Ghost Hunt: The Continuation
by NatNatWriter
Summary: Naru is back in Japan but Mai isn't the same person he left behind. Now Mai is the one with the secrets and the knowledge. As the newly assembled SRP solve case after case will the be able to unravel the mystery about Mai? Why is she keeping secrets? How did she become so strong? What is she running from?
1. Begins again

Mai's POV

It's been two years since Naru left for England. In those two years so many things have happened to me. My name is Taniyama Mai and i am a very gifted PK user.

I breathed calmly in through my nose, pulling the strong and stiff string of the bow. I breathed out through my mouth, sending a wooden arrow flying towards the bull's eye. It hits dead Centre. I smile at my accomplishment, even though i have hit the small red circle countless times, the glow of achievement still gets to me every time. Then my smile fades as i recall way i am taking archery lessons. To survive.

I pulled my now long hair out of its hair band, i am taller and my eye color (the use to be mud brown) is richer. For two years it's not just my physical appearance that's changed, everything has.

I remember the day i found out the secrets about myself all too clearly.

FLASHBACK

Tears leaked down the younger Mai's cheeks as she held he dying mother's hand.

"Mai..." Her mother's weak, rasping voice whispered, it was just loud enough for both (the younger and older me) of us to hear. "I'm sorry, I'm leaving you."

The tears fell heavier than before. "No mommy, you can't leave me."

"Shush, sweetie. I have to tell you something important..." Younger Mai nodded, blurry eyed at our mother, her face was pail and narrow. "You are very powerful Mai, and very special. Find... find my diary... it will explain everything." My mother closed her eyes and the steady hum of the hospitals machine told me she was dead.

I woke up sobbing at 7:00am. How could i have forgotten my mother's final wish? How? I didn't know the answer but there was one thing on my mind. The dairy. My mother wanted me to have it so i will find it.

END OF FLASHBACK

I found the diary a few days later barried in the garden of our old house in Tokyo.

I sighed, gathering my things, and walked out into the evening July heat. I found out just how 'special' i really was after reading mom's diary. I also found out that the power i have isn't a blessing (even though i saw it that way at first because it brought me to Naru), it was a curse.

Along with my mom's diary, there was even a data base of all the different types of spirits my mother and my family came across. The data base went all the way back to the 1500's.

I wondered back to my apartment, and as i opened the door a flicker of sorrow licked its way into my heart. When Naru left, everyone in SPR (aka Shibuya Psychic Research) just went off in their own directions. Leaving me, once again, completely and utterly alone.

The next day.

I moaned as i saw the once again i had over slept. I didn't have any school but i did have work at 8:30am till 4:00pm and then archery practice at 5:00pm till 6:00pm. It was routine. It was repetitive. It paid the bills. After Naru left me jobless, what else could i do but get another job.

It was a restaurant that paid well enough, not as much as Naru but enough. Waiting tables and surviving tea and coffee was at first difficult especially since i was extremely clumsy, but now i have developed more grace and better balance.

10 hours later.

I was walking out of the archery changing rooms with my bow clutched in my hand and my quiver slung over my left shoulder. I walked, careful to avoid any stray arrows, across the large practice hall and towards an empty target. I hooked the arrow, breathed in , pulling the arrow back and...

"Hey Mai! There's some people here for you." The deep voice of Toyama-san called. Rolling my eyes i focused back on the target.

"What have i told you Toyama-san! Don't interrupt me." I shouted then released the arrow. Again it strikes the heart of the target board.

I heard a whistle of approval followed by a "Wow, Mai, you're really good." The familiar voice of Monk hit my ears and i spun around in shock. There in front of me was SPR, my friends, my second family, and the people who abandoned me.

My happiness outweighed my anger and sorrow. Well, at least they came back. I told myself but another part of me snorted, yeah shame they didn't come when you needed them. I shook myself mentally, don't go there.

My smile was the happiest i had made in two years and Monk returned it, grabbing me into a bear hug. "Monk, stop! Mai can't breath." Scolded Ayako. When he released me, my eyes scanned over my family: Masako Hara, Ayako Matsuzaki, Osamu Yasuhara, John Brown, Kazuya Shibuya (aka Oliver Davis, aka Naru) and Lin Koujo.

Naru, with his raven black hair and indigo eye, still wore black clothing. I imagined that if i saw him again that he would wear more color since Gene's body was found in the lake... Gene, my spirit guide and good friend, was no longer in my dreams. I missed him.

When my eyes locked with Naru's i knew they darkened with emotion but no one noticed and Naru display any acknowledgement that he cared about my reaction. Of course he wouldn't care, he rejected you, he doesn't love you. Yet you still love him.

I winced at the memory of Naru asking whether i loved him or Gene. Then brushed it off.

"What are you doing hear?" I asked trying to seem indifferent their their sudden appearance.

"I am re-opening SPR. Do you want to come back and work for me." I know it was a question but Naru's cold demeanor made it seen like a statement or an order.

Why is he doing thing to me? It hurts to be be around him, knowing that he doesn't love me ...but i will keep loving him because, if you could love someone, and keep loving them, without being loved back... then that love had to be real. It hurts too much to be anything else. "Okay." I grinned and Monk and Ayako ran over to hug me.

Naru's POV

The plane landed in the Shibuya airport. I smirked think of Mai's reaction when she see's that i am back. I wouldn't admit it but i missed my team, i missed Mai. During my two years of being in London i realised just how stupid i was being when Mai confessed her feelings to me. I now know that i was jealous. I liked knowing that whenever Mai dreamt, she was dreaming of me but when i found out it was Gene she was dreaming about i was infuriated. And i didn't know why.

The first thing i did was called the team, everyone answered their phone except Mai, who's number was 'not in use at the momemt'. I mentally frowned but kepted my facial expression smooth and impassive. Then texted Takigawa to bring Mai. I didn't get a reply.

Everyone was at the office waiting for me and Lin to arrive. When i heard Takigawa and Maksuzaki arguing i had to surpress my grin. People never change. I looked at my co-workers and a frown escaped my emotionless mask: Mai wasn't here. Where was she?

I glared at the unsuspecting Takigawa, "Where's Mai?" I saw the sadness in very ones expressions and before my frown could deepen, i hide my expression.

"Well you see, we all went our separate ways after you left. I saw some of the gang every now and then but now of us has seen Mai in two years." Takigawa looked worried, upset and guilty. I couldn't help feel a twing of guilt myself. Mai had started to think of us as her second family and then we left her.

"So no one knows where she is?" I questioned. On the outside i looked unfazed, maybe a little ennoyed but on the inside i was desperate to find her.

"We went to her apartment but no one has lived there for over a year. I know that two years ago she found a job as a waitress at Amami resturant. I'm not sure if she's still there..."

"Let's go." I ordered.

We got to Amami just as a member of staff was leaving. "Excuse me, miss?" I called. The middle aged women turned toward me.

"Yes." Her voice was kind, she seemed like a good person, at least Mai had someone to look after her. That's if she's even working here, they might have fired her for being clumsy. I smirked at the thought.

"We are looking of Taniyama Mai, i was wondering if you could help me." I inquired.

Suddenly her eyes burned with anger, "What do you want with Mai? I sware if you are another creep who thinks you can treat her like i piece of meat i'll kill you here and now." What? Did many guys ask about Mai?

"No, Miss. I am no a 'creep' as you put it. We are friends and we wanted to get into contact with her since her phone number isn't working." The waitress seem to relax at those words and her eyes scanned the faces of my co-workers behind me.

Then her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But you're not Kato-kun? And i've never seen you before..." She shook her head. "Okay i'll tell you where Mai is. But be worned if you aren't who you say you are then you will sufferat Mai's hands." After giving me an evil smirk, she told us the address we should go to. I soon found out it was a training hall. What was Mai doing here?

I looked around and saw a man that looked about my age, when i asked him if he new where Mai was, he told us to follow him. We walk into a cool and very large hall. On the wall opposite us, lined 28 archery targets, 15 of which were being useds.

Suddenly my attention shifted toward the girl, who's long brown hair brushed her shoulder even though it was tide in a high ponytail. Her body had curves in all the right places and she held a bow lightly yet securely in her right hand.

She walked over the an empty target and turned so her back was facing us. She hooked an arrow and drew it back...

I hadn't realised i was staring until the amn that had shown us in shouted, "Hey Mai! Tere's some people here for you." Mai? That was Mai. No, it couldn't be.

But i was wrong, the girl-Mai- proved me wrong when she answered, "What have i told you Toyama-kun! Don't interrupt me." I was shocked Mai had only shouted like that at me. Why did this Toyama guy call her Mai? Jealousy budded in me and it took all my control not to let it show on my face.

I watched as Mai shot as arrow straight into the heart of the target and i felt pride swell in my heart. Takigawa whistled and then beamed, "Wow, Mai you're really good."

Mai spun around and the pure shock on her face made me smirk outwardly, a little. After a hug from Takigawa and Ayako pulling him away, Mai scanned over all of SPR's faces. Lastly scanning me and Lin. I stared into her eyes and saw them darken with anger, sorrow, and pain. I felt my stomach not and i wanted nothing more than to ran over to her. My Mai.

I saw her wince at the pain and i winced mentally with her. Then i saw her face go blank of emotions, just like i did with mine, as she asked, "What are you doing here?" Everyone except me and Lin were shocked at the calm, indifference in Mai's voice.

"I am re-opening SPR. Do you want to come back and work for me." I didn't make it a question. I wanted... I needed Mai to be with me. I tried to read her expressions but i saw nothing, not even a trace of emotion shone in her eyes. I was sure that she would turn around the order and began, desperately, to come up with ways of convincing her.

"Okay." That shock me. I looked at Mai and saw her grinning the same idiotic grin she always did before. However there was something else there. Something that i couldn't read.

After that there were lot's of hugs and 'see you tomorrow' (not from Lin and Naru). The gang all split up, going home preparing for tomorrows opening day. Me and Lin went straight to our hotel rooms which we conjoined. Even though i was no longer underage, Lin insisted on coming. He said that he was going to make sure i didn't screw this up for a second time.

But was there going to be a second time?

The pain i saw Mai in when she just looked at me, hurt even from a distance. "Me or Gene?" The words echoed around my head, how could i hurt my Mai so much and not realise it?

I was wrong earlier, people do change. Mai has changed. And i might be part of the reason why she changed.  



	2. Case 1: Forbidden Love part 1

I sighed staring at SPR's front door.

'Behind this door are the people who left me. Behind this door are the people who didn't come back to help me.' Shoving that voice away, I walk in and say loudly, "Good morning, everyone."

Everyone returned my greeting except Lin and Naru. Just as I was about to make a remark about it and abrupt ringing noise caught me attention. I turned my back on my infuriating, tea-loving, narcissistic boss and went to answer the phone.

"Shibuya Psychic Research, my name is Taniyama Mai. How can I help you?" I asked putting on my best business voice.

"Miss Taniyama, I am calling on the behalf of the master about problems we are having within the house. " I formal voice replied.

"What kind of problems?"

"Knocking sounds are heard when no one is making them. Some of the staff have reported seeing the ghost of an old woman and an old man haunting the dinning room. The mistress also hears screams coming from the basement yet, again, no one is making them." The mans voice quivered with fear, this Mai understood having been afraid many time herself and mostly of the supernatural.

"Well this certainly seems like the type of case we investigate. I can book an appoint in with my boss straight away if you would like?"

"Yes, my master is free this evening if it is possible to do then?"

"Yep, there's a space for two o'clock I'll write you in... Mr..." I trailed off realizing that he hadn't told me his name.

"Mr Watanabe and thank you Miss Taniyama." The click on the other end of the phone told me that the man on the other end of the phone had hung up.

I must have spaced out because the next thing I heard was Naru, "Mai, tea." I scowled at him, then thought that there wasn't much point, those indigo eyes never held any emotion no matter how much I wished they would. Naru was as cold as before, nothing had changed- excepted me.

At 2:00 in the door opened and I middle aged man and a slightly younger woman walked in.

He had dark brown hair and black eyes, while the woman had black hair and cloudy blue eyes.

"Good afternoon, my name is Taniyama Mai. Are you Mr Watanabe?"

"Yes, and this is my fiance Saya Ito." Introduced Mr Watanabe-san.

I knocked on Naru's office door, "Boss the clients are here." Then turned to Watanabe and Ito offering then teal which they declined.

I walked in with Naru's earl grey tea and caught a bit of the conversation.

"The ghost has attack my fiance twice now. When were talking in the dinning room, Saya would be thrown against the wall or shoved away." Naru took notes as the couple told their story.

As I put the cup of tea in front of him he said, "Please prepare three rooms, two for sleeping and one as the will be there tomorrow at 9:00 am."

"Sorry could you make that four rooms" I corrected, "I will be in a room by myself, if that is okay." I directed my question at Watanabe-san and he nodded that it was okay.

However Naru didn't agree, "it is safer for you to be with some else, Mai. You'll just cause trouble by attracting the ghost to you, if you are alone."

I raised my chin and pulled back my shoulders, holding my ground against my cold, calculating boss. "No, I want my own room. This is my only condition for any of the cases I go on." Naru just glared at me but left it at that.

Me being in my own room was to ensure that no one would unnecessarily worry about me. I've become strong but so has my connection to the dream world and like the saying goes strength and power always comes with a price. Always.

Naru's POV

This sounded like a typical haunting to me, with a violent ghost. I will have to keep an eye on Mai. As the story wrapped up Mai put the tea in front of me. Taking a slip, I relished in the taste, no one could make tea like Mai does. Back in England no one could make something remotely similar, so i had given up on drinking the stuff.

"Please prepare three rooms, two for sleeping and one as the will be there tomorrow at 9:00 am." I told the couple I front of me.

"Sorry could you make that four rooms. I will be in a room by myself, if that is okay." No it wasn't, I answered mentally but the question wasn't aimed at me. I glared at the man and women silently willing them to say no. Of course they didn't. Watanabe Haru nodded his head, yes. Damn. Why does Mai always make it hard for me to protect her?

"it is safer for you to be with some else, Mai. You'll just cause trouble by attracting the ghost to you, if you are alone." I reasoned. Why did she want to be on her own anyway? In the past she has always shared with Miss Matsuzakin or Miss Hara or both. In fact, she never found any appeal for sleeping in a room by herself.

"No, I want my own room. This is my only condition for any of the cases I go on." I would have told her that she can't go on cases then, I would have teased her but I had I feeling that if I didn't accept her condition she might leave SPR. So I decided to glared at her.

Why did she want a room to herself?


	3. Case 1: Forbidden Love part 2

The next day I was in the backseat of Lin's car and driving at the Watanabe house, which turned out to be more of a mansion than a house. The older redbrick mansion Towered towards the sky and it was surrounded by emerald green gardens.

As I walked through the doorway, carrying the equipment, i instantly felt the presence of two ghosts and an echo. They were easy to spot with my hypersensitive PK. Feeling a ghost through my PK was the same as feeling a normal person however they wavered in their existence in this plane. An echo feels like mist or a smoke cloud, loose and unable to take shape.

"Mai your in the way." Snapped the annoyed voice of Naru. "Miss Hara do you sense anything?"

I moved allowing Masako access into the mansion. With her kimono sleeve on her mouth she muttered, "Yes but I can't tell how many or the emotions of the spirit."

I frowned, 1 could feel them. I was either stronger than Masako or she had become weaker. "Mai, what is it?" Yasu noted my frown.

I shook my head but now everyone in SPR were looking at me, even Naru and Lin. I sighed and confidently said, "There are two spirits, one male and one female, and an echo of another male. He is probably the one that is screaming in the basement."

The shocked expressions I got from everyone made me giggle to myself slightly. "What? So I developed me abilities." That seemed to snap everyone out of the shock induced trance.

"Not only are you a kick ass archer but a stronger spiritualist than Masako. My baby girl has all grown up." Monk took me into another bear hug. I sucked in a much needed gulp of air after Ayako pried Monk off of me.

"She is NOT stronger than me." I rolled my eyes at Masako's childish behave. I would happily swap abilities with her. I shook my head at the thought. I would never wish my curse to be put on someone else. I should never. It was my curse to carry.

"Mai," I looked up at Naru, "tea."

"Make your own tea." I ordered back at Naru.

"You are my assistant, I sign your pay check." Naru reasoned coldly. Then with the same cold voice said, "Tea, Mai."

"You egotistical, narcissist. Stupid, idiotic scientist can't even make his own tea. SLAVE DRIVER." I shouted the last word of my ranting as I made my way to the kitchen that was just down the hall. My back was turned to Naru so I didn't see the warmth in Naru's eyes as he watched me rant. However Lin did.

After giving Naru his tea and setting up the cameras it was already starting to get dark. Me and John were measuring the room temperatures when we heard a high pitched scream sound in the basement.

It was a scream of a middle aged man.

Me and John looked at each other then I made my way calmly toward the basement. It was only an echo I had experience lots of them within the past two years. I heard footsteps behind me and then everyone including Miss Iko and Mr Watanabe came around the corner.

I was about to start walking down to the basement when Ayako shouted, "Mai don't!" I sighed," Ayako, it's only an echo. How is an echo going to hurt me." And I continued to walk down the stairs.

The scream had stopped and all that could be heard was the eight pairs of feet shuffling behind me, the dripping of water and the creak of the wooden steps beneath our feet. The loud scream of a voice made my vision darken as I was pulled into the ghosts' death. I always hated this part, i thought as i began to fall backwards.

I felt someone wrap their arms around my waist before I fell into the death echo.

I instantly knew that I was within the echoes body, that I was about to die, I pulled myself from the body as quick as I could. It hurt. It was like the body wanted to trap my soul within it. It was like i was one piece of Velcro and the body was another and it felt like i was being ripped away from it.

Looking around I realized that is was on a sail boat and, judging by the cloths the crew wore and the design of the sail boat, I guessed it was around 1850. I looked up at the sky and saw that the day was clear, I thought that the man I had been attached to would die in a storm but I guess I was wrong.

I couldn't see anything that would kill the young sailor, until I looked you at the sky once again. A storm was coming, I was right, and it was coming fast. None of the crew had noticed. Then thunder bumbled and the crew seemed to freeze.

Orders we yelled and the rigid, wind-like sail, turned downwind and bearing away. To my horror the boat flipped over, taking myself with it, and broke into pieces. I looked at the boat or what was left of it and it was like looking through a window.

I saw that man, the echo, he was trapped underneath it hulls. I watched as he suffocated and as the crew tried, hopelessly, to help him.


	4. Case 1: Forbidden Love part 3

I woke up and accessed my surroundings, it had become a habit of mine to scan my environment for danger. Then sitting up I noticed small cuts from when the boat fell apart. That is way I wanted my own room without anyone else. What ever happened to me in my dream also happened to my physical body.

"Mai are you okay?" I nodded, noting that the SPR gang was staring at me, but I just watched as the tiny cuts healed themselves unnaturally quick. That always happened after I got hurt on one of my dreams too. I grimaced at a particularly bad dream I had about a year ago.

"What did you see?" Naru jumped at the chance, not caring whether I was okay or not. As I told him was happened I saw his frown deepen. "Why would his echo be hear?" I was surprised, then looked around and saw everyone just as confused, then I grinned. I could feel the smugness radiate off of me as I realised I knew something that the oh-so-smart-Oliver Davis didn't.

"He died in the 1850's, Naru..." Naru glared at me obviously not getting it. "In the 1800's the body of the deceased were kept in the basement before the family gave them a proper burial because it is always the coldest place in the house. The ground is practically ice."

"Okay, Monk you can start an exorcism in the basement." Naru ordered.

"Well that's one ghost down, two more to go." Said Ayako excitedly. "This case might be wrapped up quicker than I thought." I had to disagree, the other two ghost seemed... More angry now. Like I had just taken away a member of their family.

Family. "Lin can I borrow your laptop." Lin gave me a look that said, 'if you break to I will kill you' but handed me the laptop anyway.

I went into the records of all the deaths that happened in the 1800's, there wasn't much there because they weren't as well equipped as we are, however I did manage to find what I was looking for.

"The two ghosts that are still in the house are Midori Nakamura and his daughter Yuuka Nakamura. Midori died of a heart attack and Yuuka of old age." That didn't make sense, most spirits, especially ones as violent as these two, died traumatic deaths.

With that I yawned and stretched. "Well I'm going to sleep." I murmured. Before walking off to my own room, positive that Naru can do the rest of the work.

Naru's POV

I watched as Mai walked to her room. She had changed but it was a good change. Her smile, her laugh and her temper were still that same. Those were the things I liked best about her. However, her has become stronger and I can't help the pride that swells in my heart each time i see her accomplish something.

After Takigawa exorcised the echo in the basement, the gang went to their rooms. I felt a flicker of worry for Mai because she was sleeping on her own and went to check on her. She was lightly snoring in her bed. Her now long brown hair fanned out on her pillow. I liked it short but she also looks beautiful with long hair.

It has been two years, she probably never cut her hair since then. Two years ago she confessed to me, but I don't know if she feels that same now. Has she moved on? I frowned at the thought of Mai with somebody else. It didn't feel right she was mine. But her friend at the restaurant mentioned someone named Kaito, could Mai be with him now?

I silently walked back the the base. "Where have you been?" My Chinese colleague asked.

"I went to check camera five." I lied and sat down to watch the screens.

At three o'clock Father Brown came to the base to allow me and Lin some sleep. I went without complaining.

At eight o'clock everyone with the exception of Mai was up. I secretly smiled. Mai still slept a lot as well.

Mai finally woke up and the rest of the day was uneventful. I read over the notes I made when questioning Mr Watanabe, occasionally looking over at Mai who continued to complain how bored she was. I had Masako walk around the mansion, seeing if she could sense anything but again Masako didn't.

Mai offered to try by I told her no. No matter how strong she is she was still a paranormal magnet, she was safer were I could hear her.

Evening rolled in, when we heard a women's scream coming from up stairs. Everyone was out the door and racing up to see what the commotion was about.


	5. Case 1: Forbidden Love part 4

Mai's POV

I was the first in the room. In the bedroom as a very beautiful, but very possessed wedding dress that came racing came toward her. The ghost, Yuuka, I guess, was the one wearing the wedding dress.

Monk come in behind me and started chanting but before the chant took any affect another, more elderly ghost, burst into the room.

"You foolish girl. You are not going to marry a lower class scum like that. Get out of the dress it's not yours." The ghost, Midori, barked and back handed his daughter.

"Don't say that father. I loved him. It is your fault." Yuuka begged on the floor after falling from the blow of her father slap.

"Love! Love doesn't exist it is a waist of time. I don't love you and I certainly don't love your mother." The evil words shot out of the just as evil man.

"I HATE YOU!" Yuuka shrieked in agony. Then Yuuka turned towards the gang that had gathered in the doorway. Midori's ghostly eyes following his daughter. The temperature dropped further, enough that my teeth were chattering with the cold, and the malicious feeling of the ghost attacked my every sense.

"Tatuki!" The ghost of the man cursed at me but i showed no recognition of the name. The rest of the SPR seemed to just pass it off as one of the ghosts speech habits.

I grabbed Miss Iko and pulled her behind me. Yuuka wailed in anguish and dived straight throw my body before vanishing along with her father.

An intense pain swept over me. One that I had felt before, except not as magnified. Unrequited love and rejection. It twisted and knotted in my stomach, as watched Yuuka's memories of the love that she could never have.

I saw, through her eyes, as she watched her loved one marry another. I saw her memories of seeing her beloved play with his kids. Kids that she wished she could give him. I saw it all.

I heard a loud, ear piercing scream and realised that it was mine. Yuuka's pain of unrequited love and mine pain have joined and formed a (hypothetical) gaping hole in my heart. It oozed and bled as tears ran down my face. Why did love have to hurt so much? Why was the pain so crippling that i fear i may never love again?

Finally I saw Yuuka's father throw Miss Ito against the wall in a fit of rage.

Then I passed out from the pain.

Naru's POV

As soon as the ghost disappeared, the wedding dress crumpled to the ground, and Mai scream tore at my heart. I ran over to her only to hear her screaming abruptly stop and catch her when her body crumpled to the ground. She had passed out from the intense emotion she was feeling.

"Mai... Mai." I called shaking her shoulder but no matter how hard I shook or how loud I called Mai still didn't respond. Her body was cold and un-moving, the only sign that she way alive was the rapid raise and fall of my chest.

Her breathing came out in quick pants and her pulse was erratic. What did that damn ghost do to her? My mind growled. I made no attempt to hide my worry and angry as I picked Mai up bride style and carried her back to base.

When I had lay her down on the bed Mai's breathing had almost returned to normal. So, my calm, cold, calculating mask slipped back into place.

I walked over to the monitors and stared at the screens for the ghosts that will not doubt suffer a terrible fate for what the did to Mai. However I found my gaze constantly drifting back to Mai's sleeping body. Wondering when she would wake up and hoping that she would soon.

Mai POV

I woke up with my back stiff and my throat raw from screaming. The pain in my chest was still there but I knew that it wasn't Yuuka's pain, it was only mine. It was the pain that I have learned to live with for two years.

"Mai, are you okay?" Ayako asked urgently.

"Fine." I spoke dryly, it hurt to talk and when i did it felt like someone was rubbing sand paper up and down my throat.

"Was it a dream?" I looked up at the new voice and sat there wide eyed as Naru held out a cup of tea to me. I took it gratefully and shook my head, no. Slightly shocked that Naru, the kind of narcissists, had give ME tea.

Naru's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But I do understand Yuuka a bit more."

"What do you mean?" This, of course, caught the narcissistic, workaholic's attention. Hasn't he ever heard of curiosity killing the cat? Instead of tell Naru the story that he was waiting to hear, i decided to give an edited version of Yuuka's unrequited love.

"Yuuka's ghost will move on after her father is gone. He's the one that is hurting Miss Ito because he doesn't want Watanabe to marry her. Just like he didn't want Yuuka to marry the one that she loved."

"I see. If we get rid of the father we will get rid of the daughter. However the father might put up a fight." John murmured to no one in particular.

"Well do an excorsism tonight. Everyone be prepared,Takigawa, Father Brown and Ayako you will be doing the exorcism. Lin will back you up in the exorcism. Yasuhara find the ghosts homing place. Masako go with him. And Mai," I looked up hopefully," tea."

My smile turned into a frown. "Jerk." I mumbled walking to the kitchen.

Yasu found the ghosts homing place easy enough. It was in the dinning room. Masako announced the the spirit was here. "I could do that." I hissed so low that no one could hear. Then the exorcism began. Monk,John and Ayako chanting their individual chants.

Suddenly a strong gust of wind circled the us, getting stronger and stronger. I stood with my feet sternly on the ground, thankful that I now have 100% control over my balance. Yasu was gripping the table in front of him and Masako, I noted with a twing of anger and jealousy, held on to Naru's arm.

On the wind was shouting. Midori's vile and hurtful words ripped through my hair. His ghost appeared in the centre of the room, screaming and cursing. Then it's opaque black eyes turned on me. "You I will kill you. Then I shall live." My heart jumped in my chest but for the sake of appearances i pretended that other words didn't scare me.

The ghost changed at me but I didn't even flinch. Monk had already finished chanting and Ayako and John were finishing now. The evil, twisted ghost wouldn't have enough time to get to me.

Then the chanting ended and I smiled a victorious smile as the ghost screamed one last time. "I'm not dying yet." I told him as he vanished, gone forever.

I felt Yuuka's spirit leave the house and I sigh of relief. It was finally over.

"Time to go home." I cheered with glee skipping to my room to get my stuff. I didn't notice the confused eyes of SPR as they followed me out the door.


	6. Case 2: Wigi board part 1

Three girls were sitting around a circular coffee table. They were gather together hands on the same point on the table.

"Ready?" One girl asked.

"Yep." The second girl answered.

"Let's do this." Smiled the first girl.

"We are the pure vassals in search of greater knowledge." The first girl recited. I looked down and that's when I saw it.

"No, don't" I shouted but my words landed on death ears.

The second girl continue, "We do not fear you for you are the truth."

The third girl spoke, "And in the truth, there is not danger only wisdom."

"No, don't." I screamed again but to no avail.

Their hands circled the board in front of them. "Should I date, Aoi-kun?" The first girl foolishly asked the board. The other girls laughed. "Why shouldn't you he's the hottest boy at school."

The play piece seemed to move by itself, first hovering for a second above the N and then moving to the O. "No".

"Emi, you were moving it." The first girl said in mock hurt.

"No I wasn't I swear." The second girl, Emi said truthfully.

The first girl looked at the third girl, "It wasn't me." The third said raising her hands in surrender. What the girls didn't see, but what Mai could, was a shadow pushing the wigi board piece. And what made Mai really scared for the girls was that its eyes were red.

"Come on guys, we have to be serious for this to work." The first girl said.

I watched as the girls started to get into playing, circling their hands around the board while gently holding the pointer.

"Stop moving it, Rin." The first girl said.

"I'm not moving it. Look." Rin move her hands away from the pointer but it continued to move.

Then the games piece began to spell a name. V. I. C.

"K." Emi read out, "T." The other girls joined in,"O. R."

"Victor?" Emi said, Mai knew it was an English name. She'd studied the lauguage and knew it pretty well.

"Who's Victor?" The first girl questioned the board. The shadow seem to grow more malevolent every second. The girls looks giddy and I shrieked at their stupidity.

The board spelt out 'SOS'. Emi ignored it and repeated the question. "But who are you?" The board replied, "FREE ME."

"How?" The first girl said again. She seemed to be the stupidest of them all. All I could do was watch the girl, memorize the surroundings and scan the shadow sitting with the foolish girls.

The pages of a book behind the girls began to turn rapidly and the temperature began to drop. I shouted for them to run but again they did not hear. The girls started to get scared when they saw that.

"How" Emi said.

"Maybe it's Victor." Said the first girl, she still seemed to be excited. "Do not turn to spirits or ghosts. Do not seek them out." The girls read from the book.

BANG!

The three girls jumped as the sound of banging was made in the attic. I turned to look at the shadow and wasn't shocked to see that it was gone.

"It's a warning."  
"It's a coincidence."  
"Let's find out." Two of the three girls said. The other Rin, didn't look so eager, but after the other two convinced her to join, they asked the board, "What do you want?"

The board piece landed on the letter, "U."

Then the board began to spell something out. D. I. E.

"Maybe we should stop." Emi didn't seem to be enjoying wigi boarding anymore.

"No! Just a couple more questions." Said the foolish, fatuous, first girl. "Let's find out where Victor is."

I growled at the girls to stop. It, once again, did not stop the girls. And the board piece began to move. A. T. T. I. C.

Rin freaked (that's putting it mildly). "No that's it. I'm done. I'm out of here." She got up frantically. The banging from the attic got louder and more frequent.

"Come on Rin the only thing that could possibly be up in the attic are a couple of rats." The first girl said.

"Sayuri, that doesn't sound like rats." Emi reasoned her voice getting higher.

"Stop. The meditation we said before we started protects us." Sayuri went on.

"That. We made it up?" Rin burst out. The banging got loud and louder. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know but do something." Emi shrieked.

Sayuri gabbed the board and tossed it into the open fire. I few seconds later the banging ceased. Then girls sighing with relief.

"It's over." No it's not a shrieked. "Come on, let's go watch a movie." Rin added with relief.

Later in the night I watched as the shadow hovered over the girl named Rin. It grabbed her by the mouth and dragged her silently from the room.

I woke up panting. This would be our next case.


	7. Case 2: Ouija board part 2

I frowned as the two girls , the ones I saw in my dreams, walked through the door. Before Sayuri could speak I shot the girls a glared that would make Naru proud. I couldn't help it i was angry and frustrated and their idiocy, but i wasn't any different in high school. I mean, i spent my Friday evenings telling ghost stories in school with the lights off.

That's how all this started, with ghost stories.

"Mai, what was that for?" I ignored Monk and stormed over to Naru's office.

"Naru clients." I snapped sharply. Naru, on the other side of the door, raised his eyebrows at Mai harsh voice. The old Mai wouldn't have take her angry for someone else out on Naru, but then again most of her angry went toward him and his slave-driving ways.

"There isn't one booked in." Naru called, in his business like voice.

Everyone, even Lin, was shocked at my attitude. The clients, Sayuri and Emi, were slowly backing towards the door.

"Don't go anywhere." I commanded them, giving them another sharp gaze and making them flinch visibly."That's because they didn't make an appointment." I responded to Naru.

"Then send them away..." I cut Naru off before he could finish the sentence. "I can't. I won't."

There was a long pause, in which me and Naru stared at each other. Sizing each other up. It was a match and i won, "Okay bring them in and make some tea."

I sigh with relief, hopefully we could save Rin. Shooting another glare towards the girls I walked into the kitchen to make tea.

Naru's POV

I looked at the two girls in front of me. For some reason Mai was acting strange because of them.

"What can we help you with?" I inquired, coolly.

"Well, I believe my house is... Is haunted." The blond hair girl on the left said.

"And what makes you think that?"

"Th... There's a... Always banging... Something is banging in the attic, it happens every night. And...and..." The girl burst into tears.

"One of our friends went missing. We all had a sleep over and when we woke up she was gone. We checked everywhere, called her home, called her other friends and she wouldn't have left without her stuff. She's just gone!" The brown haired girl on the right said.

Then I heard a snort from the doorway and Mai walked in with the tea. She made no attempt to cover up her disguised for the two girl, yet she didn't send them away and wouldn't allow him to. Why? I had no idea. I raised my eyebrows asking the silent question, "what?"

"Why don't you ask Sayuri and Emi what they were doing at the sleep over." Mai spat. My eyebrows rose even further at Mai's open hostility.

I turned toward the two girl and repeated Mai's question.

"We... We were playing a game." The girls mumbled.

"You," Scoffed Mai," didn't play just any game. You were messing around with a wigi board and somehow summoned a Hungry Ghost."

The girls flinched and I turned to Mai with curiosity. "Hungry ghost?"

"I'll explain later." Mai muttered.

"Okay, we will be there tomorrow..."

"No," Mai cut me off, I glared at her. This was the second time she has objected. "We need to go now. The girls probably waited I day or two before coming here. That means Rin probably doesn't have much time left."

The girls just nodded weakly.

"Wait here, we'll get the equipment and drive you back."  
Me and Mai walked out of the office, everyone was already in the reception and firing off questions.

"Enough!" I said sternly and my idiotic coworkers became silent. "Mai please explain what you meant by a 'Hungry ghost'."

"A hungry ghost is a ghost that has come back from the afterlife because it did not find everything they needed there. For what ever reason they are unsatisfied with it. These ghosts will come back to feed of victims fear energy, so the more fear a person has the more the ghost feeds.

Usually these ghost were, when they were human I mean, minor criminals who acted out of greed." Mai finished her explanation.

Everyone was looking at her with shock and awe whilst I kept my face impassive. However, I was just as shocked. I had been a paranormal researcher for years and had never came across that category of ghost. How did Mai know this type of thing? It was obvious that Mai continued researching the paranormal when he was gone. But i didn't know if that was a good sign or a bad one.

And judging from Lin's stony expression, neither did he.


	8. Case 2: Ouija board part 3

Mai's POV

The house was exactly like in my dream. The open fire place, the white wall and the small circular coffee table. However, the house was smaller than the places we usually worked with so we only had two rooms. One was the base and the other were sleeping quarters.

I sighed. It wasn't like I could hide the new intensity of my dreams; everyone would find out eventually. Still, I hoped that a wouldn't dream tonight.

"Mai, Takigawa, go set up the cameras." Ordered Naru, already jumping into boss slash jerk mode.

"Sir, yes, sir." I mock saluted then grabbed a camera to set up.

We left the attic for last. It was the one place in the whole house that had a really creepy vibe to it. Now, me and Monk stood in front of the door. I weighed the pros and cons of going in, but they were about even.

Finally cranking up my courage, I threw the door open, my fingers tingling waiting from me to use my PK. However all we saw was boxes. Boxes. And more boxes. I sighed with relief and set up four cameras. This way we would not miss any activity. Think of it like sprinklers- you want them in a place where the most grass is watered.

Hours later the sky had become pitch black, me and Monk had measured the temperature of every room and put up all the cameras. I, also, have made Naru at least a dozen teas.

Nothing supernatural or paranormal was happening and I was bored out of my mind. When a case was like this Kaito was usually there to entertain me, but now he wasn't and Monk was to busy teasing Ayako. Or Yoko would tell me one of her many, hilarious university stories. Instant I decide to stay with the most boring ghost hunters ever.

Naru and Lin.

Why? Because I love Naru. You know that saying, 'people do crazy things when their in love', yeah this is one of those crazy things. Naru is probably the one person that could make you die of boredom...or anger. But at them moment i am most definitely dying of boredom.

Then one of the cameras caught something in the attic. I also felt something. I felt two entities, one alive (this one had to be Rin), the other was the ghost.

Without warning Rin disappeared. I frowned. Nothing could just disappear, even if Rin died I would sense her, unless she was somewhere that I don't know exists.

"Lin, Takigawa and Masako go to the attic." Naru ordered. As the three members of SPR rushed to the attic I asked, "Do you have a map of the house?"

Naru turned to me. He stared at me. Searching for an answer to an unasked question, then waved his hand in the general direction that, I suspected, the map was in.

Looking at the map, I frowned, the was no room unaccounted for but then where was Rin.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang from upstairs. My eyes shot to the screens and Monk was thrown into one of the four cameras, causing me to wince at his pain. Then I shot up from my seat and began running to the attic.

I would have got there in moments, expect for the hand that grabbed my arm making me immobile. I turned around, preparing my death glare for whoever was stopping me. However, I faltered when I saw it was Naru stopping me.

"Mai stay in the base, me, John and Ayako will go." My death glare was revived and aimed at Naru, but, as expected, he's already dead so, it didn't effect him. At all. I just sighed, there was no way to win the glaring war with the master himself.

I walked over to the screens and focused intently on the one Monk and Masako was featured. Silently cursing Naru with every word in my swear dictionary. Unfortunately i took down my guard as well.

Naru's POV

We walked into the attic just as Takigawa was, once again, tossed like a rag doll. Then the ghost turned toward Hara-san.

A sharp whistle sounded in the attic and one of Lins shika pushed the ghost back. It's red eyes seemed to glow even redder with rage as I pulled Hara-san behind me. I didn't notice her grip tight on my arm, but Mai watching from the base did.

It then turned toward me, smiling an evil twisted smile. "She's here isn't she?" It asked in an inhumane voice. She? Who did it mean? The ghosts smile widened and looked more savage somehow.

"Oh she is. Maybe I'll pay her a visit." And it faded into the background.

Now I turned to Hara-san and took my arm out of her hold. She had purposely squeezed my arm tight into her chest. I shook my head at the pronounced way in which she flaunted herself. Mai wouldn't do that.

"Oliver, I thought..." A scream cut Hara-san off. I scream I knew all to well. Mai.

I shot down stairs only to find a very unconscious Yasuhara and no Mai. I saw nothing but a puddle of blood. The Ghost had got Mai and she was hurt.


	9. Case 2: Ouija board part 4

Mai's POV

I woke up feeling weightless and unable to breath. I thought that was strange because there was no pressure around my neck and nothing covering my mouth or noise. Yet for some reason my lungs refused the air I was attempting to breath in.

I forced my eyes open and found the reason why.

My hands were tied above my head and I was suspended from the ceiling. This was a very strange method of containing and trapping someone. It stops your lungs from expanding and in fact makes them narrower because it is like your body is being stretched. I grabbed hold of the rope that hung me and pulled myself up, I took a breath, and let myself fall again.

A flash of red pain shot through my brain and I looked down to see blood seeping from a stomach wound. It looked deep. I had about a day or two before it became infected putting my life in danger. Well, in more danger than it was now.

As the deep gash continued to bleed, i shifted my body in discomfort. Then my lungs began to ache again with the desperate need for air.

Using the rope, I again pulled myself up and took a breath. Then looking around I saw her. Rin. Her chest wasn't moving her skin, no more held the flush of life and blood. She was dead. Her medium length hair fell in front of her face as her lifeless body drooped.

I let a tear fall for the innocent girl, but i shook it off. There was no point crying and wasting time on something that can never be changed. She could mourn for the loss of Rin's life later.

I scanned the rest of my surroundings. I felt him. I knew he was watching me but he blended in too well with the darkness.

An evil laugh ricocheted off of the walls, "Are you scared yet? Do you fear me?" Then he began to walk out of the shadows and towards me. He walked close enough that I could smell his fowl, metallic breath. Like blood. I had to hold back a gag as nausea rose up into my throat..

"Why would I be scared? There are worst things are out there than you." It was true and i had experienced first had just how evil those creature and spirits could be.

"Everyone one is scared of something. I've just got to find it." He sneered wickedly before fading into the pitch black darkness that encompasses the room.

Crack. Bang. Bang.

I didn't like the sound of that. It sounded like a crate was opened and turned over. When the sound of scurrying came, like a thousand tiny feet were rushing in this direction. A feeling of dread washed over me and a chill crept up my spin.

The shadows seemed to move, bend to reveal at least a dozen spiders. A surge of fear spiked through me, although with the fear i soon felt it the feeling of my body being drained over of its energy. Quickly, I pulled myself up for my air. Then I fell back down into unconsciousness and astro projecting to somewhere better.

Naru's POV

I was desperately searching for any clue to find Mai. She had been gone for 5 hours but it felt like a life time.

We were all in the base, Matsuzaki was treating an unconscious Yasuhara, Lin was typing madly at his computer, John was searching through the houses records. When, suddenly, a white shimmer caught my attention.

Mai.

"MAI!" Takigawa ran over to her, or rather right through her. She was an astro projection. "What?"

Mai smile and then locked her eyes with mine, I noticed rope marks around her hands and a number of bite marks that kept on increasing. "One day." She said as calmly as if she was talking about the weather.

"For what?" I questioned.

"To find me. I am still here." And then she vanished and the house blueprints came flying toward me.

"How are we going to find her when we don't know where she is?" Hara-san shrieked caring more about the fact that Mai had interrupted her.

"She told us everything we need to know." I replied coldly. I was looking intently at the blueprints, something didn't fit. There was something that was unaccounted for.

Then I snapped. "Lin how high is the ceiling in the attic?".

The Chinese man seem surprised by my sudden question. "Six, seven foot." I frown that means there was another six, seven feet unaccounted for. That's were Mai is. All we have to do is find the entrance.


	10. Case 2: Ouija board part 5

Mai POV

The spiders were gone now. I moved my body and found that i couldn't feel any of the tell-tale signs that i was poisoned. There was no burning around the bite marks, drowsiness or fever. Thank god they weren't poisonous. If they were I'd be dead.

My arms were starting to ache form the strain of pulling myself up to take a breath. Add that to the deep slash in my stomach and the stinging spider bits the pain would have been unbearable. However, I have suffered worst.

"What did you do? You were scared and then I felt no emotions from you. What did you do?" I wouldn't cower down to him. He was blending into the darkness again, hiding just out of my sight. His evil, inhuman voice echoed off the walls making it impossible to know where he is.

"I went to talk to a friend. You two will get to meet soon." I sneered. My confidence renewed. Naru will come it know he will. He'll come for me like he came for Masako. Not even the cold, calculating Naru would let an employee die.

"You witch!" His voice become more threatening and I had to stop myself from shrinking back instinctively. He stepped out of the shadows and if possible his figure was more dark and potent that before. Like he had became crueler.

"Get it right Victor. Not witch. Psychic." I all but shouted. I knew that was the wrong thing to say, my taunting just angered him more. I should have kept him talking longer, that was the plan. However I hated it when ghosts, all ghosts, think I am a scare weak human being. They think i'm breaking but i am not, and i never will be. I know what it is like to be weak and i never want to be like that again.

I pulled myself up with the rope for what would be my last time, as Victors shadowed hand lunged for me, wrapping around my throat. I immediately tenses, then relaxed in his grip allowing myself one deep long breath before his hand was secure enough around my throat. I held tight to the rope feeling it burn as it rubbed against my hands.

I was running out of air fast. On instinct I tried to drag in some oxygen but got nothing. "Naru" I called mentally, praying that he got here quickly. If I died I was going to haunt him, I decided. I saw black dots in my vision, the lack of oxygen getting to me. The world looked like it was shimmering as my eyes began to become blurry and unfocused.

Just as I was about to black out something bright and warm pushed Victor away from me. I gasped for air, coughing and choking as I hung limply from the ceiling. I had no energy to pull myself up so my lungs were still not filling with the needed air. I was still suffocating.

The voices of SPR sounded far away. "She's still suffocating. What do we do?" Monk shouted.

"Cut her down." Order more than one voice, I wasn't quite sure which. It couldn't have been Naru though because the voices sound panicked and worried. Naru was never panicked and worried.

Suddenly the cold floor hit me and I pulled in the oxygen gratefully.I lay there aching all over and allowing the icy floor to cool the burning hand print on my throat. Breathing in all of the air I can, as if it would be taken from me at any moment.

Again I felt weightless and i whimpered at the loss of the cool ground beneath my burning body. However i stopped when the feeling was also accompanied by the feeling of safety. I breathed in the smell of cologne and tea, Naru. I heard relieved voices all around me but I blocked them out and allowed Naru to carry me back to base, my eyes drifting closed.

Rin.

I jumped out of Naru's arms. At first my body was shocked at the sudden movement and i fell tot he ground but i quickly steadied myself and stood back up.

The ghost, Victor, had moved Rin where no one would see. He wanted me to be the centre of attention once I died so he moved Rin. I ran towards the dead girl.

Hearing foot steps behind me I stepped out of the way and pointed at the pale skinned brown haired teenager. Since my wide pipe was practically crushed talking was not an option. Hopefully that wasn't permanent.

Naru understood what I wanted, "Lin carefully cut her down."

I watched as Lin followed orders and when the dead girl was cradled in Lin's arms I felt the energy drain out of me. Naru, seeing me swaying on the spot, swept we into his arms. This time I let myself relax. Falling into a dreamless sleep.


	11. Case 3: The descended Part 1

There are something's that have to be expressed through words and emotions...  
There are something's that can't be expressed through actions...  
However there are words that mean more than anyone would admit... Including Naru.  
Words...  
Three simple words...  
Yet the hold some much meaning...  
Three simple words...  
'I love you.'  
If Naru had just conveyed them through words, not by teasing, not by his actions...  
If that had happened, right now Mai wouldn't be slipping right from his hands...

Naru's POV

Mai's been unconscious for three days now. When I think about her, I always think of how she storms out in a tantrum when I tease her. I always think about her bright smile and warms my heart.

She always got hurt. On every single case we took she always got hurt. It is like she is wearing a sign say, 'Ghosts come and get me.' And the fact that every time she got hurt, is every time I had fail to help her. That hurt my pride and made the guilt overwhelming.

Stupid Mai. Why couldn't she be a normal high school girl.

I shook my head, a sad smile pulling at my lips. If Mai was normal, she wouldn't be Mai anymore. My Mai was clumsy. My Mai was childish. My Mai was selfless. My Mai was brave. Braver than I give her credit for. My Mai attracted danger like a magnet.

Stupid Mai. Even if she's stronger than she was two years ago, she still gets hurt.

I hear a little moan and my eyes immediately go to Mai's face. I watch with barely contained joy as she opens her dazed, chocolate brown eyes. She opens her mouth to talk but nothing comes out.

Shaking my head with amusement, I say, "You won't be able to talk for a while. Your wind pipe was damaged." Mai nods mutely, as the silence begins to become uncomfortable I mutter calmly, "I'll tell the doctor you are awake."

As I get up to move I feel a tug at my black shirt. Looking down I see that Mai had grabbed hold of me, I then glanced into her eyes. What I saw shocked me.

I knew exactly what Mai wanted to tell me just by looking into her rich brown eyes, "Don't leave." I held my breath at the surge of emotion. Mai had just woken up, she's probably delirious. She doesn't love me anymore. I figured that out when her expression became emotionless when she first looked at me after two years.

I took to long to find the answer that was already in front of me.

However I could say no to her, so I sat down pretended to sleep. Once I knew Mai had fallen asleep again, I watched her peaceful expression. Eventually I fell asleep as well.  
She was going to be okay. She was Mai after all.

**Case 3: The Descended Part 1**

Third Person POV

Mai stretched and glared at her boss's office door, muttering "Stupid, workaholic, slave driver..." After she had gotten released for the hospital Naru had made her come straight back to work. Her throat was completely healed but there was a dull ache from the deep gash she had received a week ago one the last case.

"Mai," the young brown haired girl jumped at her boss's harsh tone. "Tea." Then rolling her eyes she went to make her stupid, workaholic, slave driver of a boss his tea.

The front door opens with a click and an elderly gentleman walked calmly in. Mai came out of the kitchen holding Naru's tea, careful not to spill it. "Good morning, is there something I can do for you?"

The grey haired man turned his eyes onto Mai, "Yes, I have a message for Taniyama Mai and a case for your team."

Mai blinked in surprise, "Um, well have a seat. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, thank you."

Mai knocked on her boss's door and walked in, hearing her entrance, Naru looks up as the sweet aroma of tea breezes past him.

"There is a client waiting." Naru raised his eyebrows but said nothing as he sipped the delicious earl grey tea. Then he stood up and walked silently out of his office, Mai following swiftly behind him.

As Mai went to make the elderly mans tea Naru began the questioning.

"There have been strange things happening in the art gallery that I own," the old man slipped into professionalism as he talked. "Deep scratches are dragged along the walls, paintings are destroyed and the security guards are killed."

Mai placed the cup of tea in front of the man and then sat down beside Naru.

"How do you know it is not just a living person doing all of that?" It was a reasonable question,some paranormal occurrences are not actually paranormal but structural problems or done by humans.

"I have already had confirmed by another team, which if you accept this case you will be working with them." Naru nodded, it wasn't abnormal for a client to hire more than one research team.

"I don't think there is anything we can do on this case..." Naru began but the client cut his off.

"I see but at least let me deliver my message to Taniyama." The old man said regretfully.

"Oh, that's me, I'm Mai Taniyama." Mai blurted curiously about what the message was. The man took out a clean, sealed envelope.

Mai took it, staring at it as if she could somehow see through it. "I'm sorry..." Naru continue and explained why we won't be taking the case but Mai didn't hear it, her attention was entirely on the envelope in front of her.

As she pulled the single slip of paper out, she stopped breathing and felt the colour drain from her face. "I will go." She said more confidently than she felt.

Naru turned to Mai and glared at her. "Mai I said we won't be taking this case."

"No, Naru I am taking this case." His frown deepen then Naru asked, "What does the letter say?" Mai's mouth refused to move, as she opened and closed it no sound came out. All of SPR had heard Naru and Mai's conversation and had walked in. However they remained unnoticed by Mai and Naru.

Painfully slowly Mai turned the slip of paper around so everyone could see it. Written in big bold writing was the words: DESCENDED ONE


	12. Case 3: The descended part 2

3rd Person POV

"Mai what is the descended one?" Ayako asked, confused at the fear that shadowed Mai's eyes. Everyone had been silent and immobile since Mai had shown them what the letter had said.

"It's...it's..." Mai murmured unsure of what to do with all of the emotions in her. She felt the fear and the adrenalin of that day as if it was happening at this very moment. Her palms had become sweaty and her nerves wouldn't stop her hands from shaking. The writing was done by someone she knows. Kaito had sent this message and he would only do that if a really needed her.

"Kaito, it's his team that you hired. Wasn't it?" Mai asked the old man. He just nodded his head and Mai felt and odd twist of panic raise up within her. How could he take such a dangerous case, it was stupid and reckless but that was Kaito. He probably saw a challenge and took it.

Naru, however, felt his stomach twist with jealousy and rage. He had heard that name before. The waitress had mentions it when he had asked where he could find Mai.

Mai took a deep breath and calmed her raging emotions. "We'll take the case, please leave your name and the address on the desk." The old man did as instructed and left silently. The poor man was utterly confused with how Mai had reacted and how the team had reacted to Mai.

"Mai?" The whole of SPR questioned. Mai could see the curiosity in their gazes and their worry for her.

"A descended one, is one of the top three most dangerous and evil of spirits. When a human decides to commit a horrendous act of their own freewill and die, they become something else." Mai's voice was filled with dread.

"Else?" Lin asked. If Mai wasn't so serious then she would have been surprised that the Chinese man had asked. Mai had always been under the impression that Lin had hated her or at least disliked her for hurting him during their first meeting.

Instead Mai nods numbly, " All of their hate, their rage, greed, jealousy, envy, pride, wrath and lust builds creating a physical manifestation of the spirit. But it is twisted into something not recognizable. You can't tell if it's male or female, you can't even tell that it had once been human. It had no humanity left, it feels nothing. No guilt, pain, sadness nothing that you could use to identify the spirit with. And it is only driven to do one thing, to kill."

Everyone stared at Mai with a mixture of horror and amazement. "Mai how do you know this?" It was Lin that asked again. Everyone else seemed to be shocked speechless, unable to ask any questions.

She smiled grimly, "About a year and a half ago, I found a really reliable and really informative source of information. It explained a lot. It has all sorts of information about different types of spirits. That and..."

When Mai saw everyone transfixed on her, she went on,"And a few months after Naru and Lin left I was attacked by one. If it wasn't for Kaito, I'd be dead."

Guilt curled around everyone's hearts as they heard what Mai was reluctant to tell them. They weren't there when Mai needed them the most and if it wasn't for Mai meeting this Kaito person, she'd be dead. Ayako felt the most guilty, she was in Japan she was closer to Mai that most of SPR and yet she had made no effort to keep in contact with the girl she saw as a daughter to her.

Naru mentally flinched at her words. He was jealous over the person how saved her when he couldn't. He should have been there. Yet, instead he let his head rule over his heart and left her to deal with all the spirits that she manages to attract.

Mai walked over to the desk and picked up the address and name which said, 'Aoi Omi'.

Kaito waited for Mai to arrive. He knew that she would come once she got the message. Kaito's team was securing the gallery, Jessie was with Sai searching rooms one to seven, Shiro and Naomi was searching rooms eight to fourteen and Yuuta and Sora was searching rooms fifteen to twenty two.

Mai walked out of Lin's car and ran toward the art gallery's entrance. Pulling the giant door open she shrieked, "KAITO!"

Hearing her call him, Kaito ran to the entrance and picked Mai up into a hug. He spun her around as she hugged him back. "Where is everyone?"

Kaito grinned, "Wait for it..."

Then six bodies charged towards her shouting, "Mai". They had formed a dome around Mai all talking at her at once.

"Mai!"

"Mai it's been so long."

"Where have you been?"

"Hey Mai, we missed you."

"Who are they?"

"Ohh are they your team."

"Yes we are and I would appreciate it if you let my assistant go." Naru sounded curtly. Everyone turned to look at a stone faced Naru.

"Assistant!" Snorted Naomi, Mai is much more than a mere assistant.

Naru had watched with unease as the guy called Kaito picked up a beaming Mai and spun her around. He winced as he thought, 'that could have been me if I hadn't been so stubborn and left'.

When six voices shouted for Mai in unison Mai's five team mates (Ayako, , Masako, John, Yasu and Monk) felt guilt shift in their hearts and jealousy. Mai had created new bonds and found a new family while they were gone. They had never abandoned her and they had probably saved and helped her as many times as SPR have.

"Um, let me introduce everyone. Kaito and the team already know who you guys are, so guys this is; Jassie Masen, she is a Healing Meister; Sai Endo, he can recite the Fatal Verse; Shiro Hayashi, a researcher and spirit medium; Naomi Hayashi, a reseacher; Yuuta and Sora Koga, they are telepathic and, finally, Kaito Sasaki a Knight Meister.

Kaito and the rest of his team look at SPR with a mixture of anger and disgust. They left Mai and she almost died. Kaito ignored Mai's cold hearted boss and turned to a very flustered Mai.

He looked to Mai and then to Oliver Davis and the SPR gang. 'It seems like Mai has reverted back to how she use to be when she was with them. She always used to be so calm and in control.'

12 hours later...

Nothing has happened so far but most of the teams felt the presence on the sinister ghost in the art gallery. This of course gave Mai a lot of time to think about the past and the present.

**FLASHBACK- one and a half years ago.**

Mai was walking down the street when she saw a glint of red, like light reflecting off of a shiny object. When Mai turned around, however, it wasn't a shiny object that caught her attention. She was trapped in the crimson red eyes of a creature.

Mai knew that when she began to move toward the house it wasn't off her own freewill, somehow, someway this 'thing' was controlling her. The fear that shot through her walk have either made a person freeze in place or run faster than they had every run before. Mai, if given the choice, would have ran for her life. Yet she walked calmly toward the house as if she were visiting the family within.

END OF FLASHBACK

"-ai! Mai!" Shouted Naru's annoyed voice. Mai looked up at the arrogant smirking face of the boss she hated, yet loved, so much. "Are you death as well as dumb now?"

"For your information I was thinking." Mai snarled.

"Yeah about 'that' again." Yuuta said, empathising 'that'.

"Yeah, seriously is that the only thing you can think about? If it is then I'm going have to help take your mind off of it." Sora, Yuuta's twin brother said. They were both telepathic and annoying as hell. However they were like younger brothers to me and i loved them.

"Wh-" before Mai could reply Sora's brown eyes were looking into mine with a playfulness that made her stomach turn. Then his lips were on her's in a quick short kiss, that left Mai frowning before she clobbered his over the head. Mai's hit was followed by five more consecutive hits.

Jessie, Sai, Shiro, Naomi and Kaito were infuriated with Sora for making yet another move on Mai. It was bad enough that one and a half years ago the eager 16 year old tired to sneak into her bedroom when she was sleeping. But now he was stealing kisses from her right in front of them all.

Naru watched with murderous eyes as the scene unfolded around him. Looking down Naru noticed that he had dug his fingers so hard into his arm that it was bleeding. He didn't care, all he could do is list the many, many ways in which he could kill this Sora person. Strangulation, suffocation, shoot him... Crush him with his PK. Naru smirked evilly, he liked that idea.

Lin watched as Naru's mind ran over all the crazy ideas in his head. Then Inaudible sighed when he saw him smirk. 'I am going have to talk him out of his deranged idea later.'

"Well I'm going to question Mr Omi about some things." Naomi said, her inner researcher coming out. Mai detected excitement in the woman's grey eyes, 'same old Naomi.'

"Mai you go with her." Ordered Naru, Mai didn't care she jumped at the chance wanting to ask some questions of her own to Aoi Omi.

Naomi and Mai found Mr Omi in his office looking tired and ragged. "Mr Omi could we have a word?" Naomi asked politely, instantly the old man placed his business mask on and Mai wondered if this is what Naru did behind closed doors. If Naru ever turned off the cold, indifferent mask?

"When did the haunting start?"

"Around two months ago and in these two months five security guards have been killed and one homeless person." Omi answered sadly.

"Can I ask how they were killed?" Mai said uncertainly.

"Yes, well, the autopsy said that their bodies were crushed but no object was anywhere near them. Well not anything heavy enough to crush a person to death."

The questions went on...


	13. Case 3: The descended part 3

The groups were sent out into pairs to search the huge art gallery for any spiritual activity. So it was only Naru and Masako in the base we they felt the temperature drop.

"Oliver," squeezed Masako "it's hear." Naru silently agreed with her. He looked at the thermometer that was on the desk behind him and his eyes winded as he saw that the temperature had dropped by almost 30 degrees.

Masako shrieked as the sound of scratching approached them and she ran over to where Naru stood stiffly in concentration.

Suddenly an invisible force through them both against the wall. Masako screaming out in pain. The scratching continued but it sounded as if it was right above them. The monitors, all at once, turned off leaving the darkness consume Naru and Masako.

The scratching getting louder and louder before dying away. The monitor turned back on, flooding the room with light. Masako gasped, there scratched into the wall, just above were they were, the words "This will be fun" were written.

Behring him, Naru heard the familiar foot steps of Lin and Father John, "Noll, what happened?"

Naru found the Chinese mans worry two teams waked into the base to look at the message. Naru noticed that the other team and Mai were frowning as if something didn't make sense.

"What?" Naru said, curtly.

"The descended ones loose most of their human memories except for how they killed a person. So they usually don't know how to talk or write for that matter." Mai muttered and the rest of Kaito's team nodded their agreement.

"That might mean that it is still manifesting itself. Mid-turning so it still remembers some of its human attributes." Kaito reasoned.

"Hmmm." Mai.

Naru found this very interesting. He wondered how the manifestation process began and what stages were involved? Did the spirit start off as every other lost soul? "Well I'm beat. I'm going to sleep." Mai's voice snapped Naru out of his musings.

"Mai since you are in your own bedroom please try not to attract to much danger." Naru smirked, he loved teasing Mai. When he did her expressions are very funny to watch. He watched as Mai's tiredness drained away and was replaced with anger, then annoyance and then back to tired. Mai didn't even bother to start a confrontation, it was so unlike her. Ever when she is about to drop from tiredness she would still scream at Naru.

Mai went to her room and began to fall asleep, however was woken by the cold bristle of night air. She opened her eyes and saw and empty street, the lamps glowed comfortingly but their were no stars in the sky. The moon barely peaked over the tall sky scrapers that were buildings. She was in the city.

Mai looked down, confused when she saw a newspaper laying on top of her body. Then understood when she noticed it wasn't her body. The newspaper read 'Stoneman kills 11th victim'. The date 1987.

Mai couldn't read anymore because suddenly a huge cold pressure pushed against her chest. She tried to detach herself from the body that was most likely the 12th victim, but she couldn't. It was like the body was clamping down on my soul. She couldn't escape. Once again a she was trapped in a body, she was becoming careless in her astro form. Usually she would leave a body before the memory started but now it is like her curiosity is getting the better of her.

The pressure got more intense, she felt ribs cracking and blood vessels being crushed. She was going to die. She knew that if she didn't wake up there was a chance she would never awaken. Ever.

Then a light bulb went off in my head. 'Yuuta, Sora help! Wake me up!' Hopefully the twin telepaths would hear her. She prayed desperately that they would.

The two brown haired twins shot up from their beds, both hearing Mai plea for help. After a quick glance at one another they were running towards Mai's room and shouting, "Kaito, Mai's having one of those dreams."

The 19 year old and Mai's boss came out of the base. Sora ignored them and ran straight into Mai's room. He tried to block out the view of Mai's crushed and bleeding body, knowing fall well that she will heal when she woke up. If she woke up.

"Mai," Sora shouted, slapping her face,"Mai wake up."

"Oh my god, Mai!" Screamed the very irksome red head. Mai still wasn't waking up.

Sora was about a hits her on the cheek, hard but a firm hand caught him. Oliver Davis. In his hand was a bottle of water which he tipped lightly onto Mai's forehead, waking her up instantly.

"Mai, oh my god, your bleeding... And...your ribs they're broken." Tears welled in the red heads eyes, in very ones eye except for Naru and Lin. Nevertheless they looked worried.

Kairo's team frowned at this, "Don't you know? Mai will be fine, her dreams will never kill heras long as she awakes." Sora said.

"What do you mean, she's hurt now. Sure she's not dead yet but she could be soon if she isn't given medical attention." Said the guy with light brown hair who had his arm around the crying red head.

"Look for yourself." Yuuta suggested and just as SPR's eyes fell on Mai they saw the blood slowly vanishing and her chest rising as her ribs began to heal.

"How... That's not possible." Naru voiced.

"Over the last two years. Mai's connection to the dream world has gotten closer, stronger. Now, if she is in the victims or sometimes the offenders body she experiences physically what they are experiencing." Kaito explain.

Shiro snorted, "Yeah, when it first happened Mai spent a whole day believing she had killed a person."

"You will never let that go will you?" Crocked Mai. Then she looked around the room at her fellow SPR members, "this is why I wanted my own room." She stated simply.

Then she looked into Yasu eyes, "Stoneman 1987, 12th victim was homeless. It happened in an English City." Mai told him, everyone was silent around her and Mai didn't bother meeting their stares as she waiting for her body to continue the healing process.

Naru was amazed and terrified at Mai's ability, it could kill her. However he also felt a strange sense of pride as he learned that Mai could easily and consciously find information about the case in her dreams.


	14. Case 3: The descended part 4

As Mai slept Yasu found what Mai had been trying to tell us, 'The Stoneman was a name given by the popular English language print media of Calcutta to an alleged serial killer who menaced the streets of that city in 1989.'

So, this is the ghost, but why is he here? Everyone thought.

As everyone went on with their individual jobs, Sora went off to Mai's room trying to be as stealthily as possible. He silently opened the door and went in to sleep with his beautiful, precious Mai.

A few hours later, Mai's eyelids fluttered open and she felt a strange warm beside her. Turning, her eyes changed from sleep and confused to furious in moment. "What the hell are you doing?" She screamed causing both ghost hunting teams to run into Mai's room.

Yuuta walked in to find that his brother was yet again being beaten by a very pissed off Mai. It was obvious what had happened- Sora had once again went into Mai's room without permission.

Naru was fuming at the familiarity the Sora was with Mai and how he constantly approached her with romantic intentions. He was yellow with jealousy and green with envy and the colors definitely didn't suit him.

After the problem with Sora was sorted, Ayako snapped at her. "Why didn't you tell me something like that? Your dreams physically hurt you,for Christ sake."

Mai blinked,"Why should I have told you?" Everyone SPR flinched at Mai's sudden harshness. Kairo's team winced, this was the Mai they knew.

"If I remember correctly you let me, all of you. You left me, the ghost magnet, alone and defenseless. For the past two years in was either become fight to live or give up and die, I would have gave up but I didn't want to take god knows how many people with me."

Mai then signed suddenly exhausted," It does matter, usually I can control it. This time it just caught me off guard the body was stronger than I thought."

After Mai's rant the tension in the base was too suffocating and Mai turned and walked back out.

"Well, that went well."Sora said awkwardly. "I don't know what to say, that has basically been Mai for the past two years. It looks like she had reverted back to the old Mai, at least for a bit." The tension began to ease and everyone watched as Naru walked out of the room, confused at his actions.

Naru could barely keep himself from running to Mai. He saw her walk through one of the doors and he followed, Mai was inside frozen, pail and trembling.

When Mai walked into the room she wasn't expecting to come face to face with a painting of the scene in her dream. Everything from the tall buildings and the silvers moon to the newspaper lying on a homeless mans lap was there.

Mai heard the door open and after a long pause she said,not looking away from the painting, "I know what he's attached too."

"What?" Naru followed her gaze and saw it. It was a painting of an old man on a bench with a newspaper on him and a large stone weighting him down.

Mai was shaking, "He's coming." Immediately Naru heard the scratching and the light flickered off. Then, "AHHHH!" Mai screamed as she was thrown into the wall with a sickening thud.

Naru would have rushed over to her if it wasn't for a intense pressure on his stomach. He couldn't breath and felt like... Like he was being crushed... He was being crushed by the descended one.

Mai woke up hearing the labored breathing that was Naru's. No... She didn't think, she just ran towards Naru. Panic and anger like she had never felt before swelled within her, like a lion preparing to roar. But instead she shouted,"No! Stop! Let him go. Please."

Mai saw it. It's five fingers, long, sharp and block like the talons for an eagle. Eyes as red as a tree frogs. It's body was entirely black but it's knees and elbows bent in the opposite direction than what they usually did. It laughed enjoying Naru's pain.

Red hot rage boiled within her, she felt her PK encasing her body and saw as Naru's eyes widened with shock at the sight of her. Mai's fingers itched for her bow and that's what she focused her PK on.

She felt the familiar weight on her fingers and smiled glancing down briefly at the bow. It shinned a beautiful blue light and it hummed with energy. Next Mai focused her PK on forming an arrow that shinned just as bright as the bow.

Mai focused on her aim, breathing in through her nose as she pulled the arrow back. Then releasing it and watched as it flew ten times faster than any normal arrow would. It went straight through the descended one's cold, evil heart and vanished. A loud, shrill cry of pain filled her ears and Mai covered them. The cry weakened as the creature before her turned to ash.

Naru breathed in a much needed breath. Then, against his will, images of what happened flashed before him. Mai had defiantly become stronger. That realization made him feel a mixture of pride and sorrow. What must she have gone through to gain that strength?

The next day, both teams were packing up their equipment and Mai couldn't help the sadness that swept through her as she though of leaving Kaito and her family yet again. She knew it wasn't really goodbye but it still made her sad to leave them.

"I'll see you guys soon." She said giving everyone a watery smile as Lin and Naru waited in the car for her.

"Definitely." Jessie said and pulled Mai into a tight hug.

"Yeah, well see each other soon. Don't worry sweetheart." Sai said as he and Shiro gave me a firm pat on the back. What was it with guys and their unwillingness to show affection.

"Bye, Mai." Naomi cried.

"I'll call you soon so we can set up a date." Sora announced before kissing Mai smack on the lips and Yuuta had to drag him away with a small nod of goodbye to her.

Naru shifted uncomfortably as Sora yet again kissed Mai. He really considered crushing the kid with his PK right there and then but Lin had told him not to do anything to drastic. Was it still considered murder if it was a crime of passion? Because right now, he felt like choking Sora- passionately.


	15. Case 4: If only you believed me part 1

SLAP.

Everyone stood stunned in the hospital room, staring unblinkingly at Mai who had slapped the great Oliver Davis around the head.

"Next time I won't save you if a ghost tries to kill you." Mai said in the threateningly cold voice. Then without a backwards glance at her friends she storms out of the hospital.

Mai didn't want to admit that she was over reacting a little bit because, even though his injuries were minimal, Naru had still driven her into a blind panic. Then to make matters worse her own desperation to save him caused her to carelessly use her abilities. The abilities that she wanted to be kept a secret for a long time. Preferably forever.

Naru's eyes burn with anger and something else that none of SPR can define...affection? Then Naru shakes his head and the cold eyes they are so familiar with return, as Monk voices what the others were thinking.

"What was that about?" He turned to face Kaito's team, hoping that they would have the answer. After hearing that Naru had to go to the hospital for the damage the ghost had dealt, they had immediately decided to come and check on Mai's arrogant boss.

"Isn't it obvious?" Sora states, "she doesn't like it when others get hurt. I don't know about when she was with you but when she is with us she makes absolutely sure that none of us have so much as a scratch. Even if she has to take the damage herself..."

Sora trailed off remembering the time Mai stood protectively in front of him as a ghost holds a knife only meters away. That was, he thought, the first time her realized that he loved her more than a brother loved a sister.

Everyone was silent. Naru and the entire SPR couldn't help but wonder why Mai had changed so much? She used to be silly, clumsy ghost magnet Mai... but now she was different and similar at the same time. It was like she had created a mask but no one knew which of Mai's persona was the masked Mai or the real Mai.

Mai threw herself onto her bed, ignoring the groan of protest it gave. The room around her was spacious yet to her it felt as cluttered as it was in her old apartment.

Her mothers journal was safely hidden in a small volt under the floor board that was under her bed- not even Naru would be able to find it and even if he did he wouldn't be able to get into it. Mai didn't even notice that she had fallen asleep until she saw them.

_Mai sat up calmly from her bed and looked at the clock. It read 13:43pm, she had slept for two hours. Stretching, Mai stepped from her bed and walked towards the bathroom, as she walked past the window she froze._

_Looking back at her was a figure. In the black trench coat and hat, it looked intimidating. However with no face, it looked as if the skin had been stretched over a skull, it looked eerie._

_She now walked to the other side of the room and looked out of the other window. Then let out a hiss of breath, the only sign of her frustration._

_Another figure stood stock still, in a black trench coat. Although it had no eyes it was obvious that it was staring right at her._

Mai shot from her bed, grasping for breath, shaking from adrenaline. They had found her. Mai new this day would come but she didn't know it would come so quick. She didn't know if she could face them all alone. She didn't know if anyone was strong enough to face them with her.

The silent ones.

**The next day.**

Mai sat unblinkingly at her desk, not even taking notice of Naru after she had hit him in the head. Instead she replayed the words that she had read long ago. Over and over again.

"The silent ones are the most dangerous and mysterious creatures in the supernatural world. As far as I know they have no weaknesses, they have no identities. As far as I know they are the souls of those who were suppose to exist in this world but they never got a chance. That is why they are faceless. They were never born into this world so the were never given an identity.

I think that is why they want us so bad. They have never felt life so they are desperate to have it.

Beware the silent ones for they are the most cunning and the most deadly."

"-ai". A voice said. "Mai!" The voice was sharper. Mai, blinking out of her memories, rushed to answer the phone that had probably been ringing for quite a while.

"Shibuya psychic research how can I help you?"

In the doorway of his office Naru sighed in frustration and he looked at Mai speaking on the phone. Ever since yesterday Mai had been staring into space with a very serious expression that Naru thought didn't suit her at all. To his surprise he wasn't angry about yesterday, just worried and confused.

What could she be thinking about so hard? What could possibly make Mai look so solemn?

What Naru didn't know was that everyone - even Lin - was silently worrying about Mai.


	16. Case 4: If only you believed me part 2

"Naru." Mai said looking up and noticing Naru standing in the doorway, "a clients coming here in an hour."

Slightly embarrassed by being caught staring at Mai, but not will to show it, Naru nodded his head to show that he heard her before walking back into his office. Sitting down behind his desk, Naru stared blankly at the paperwork in front of him still thinking about Mai. She had definitely been acting stranger. It was as if she was on edge about something, like she was waiting for someone to jump out and grab her when her guard is down.

An hour later, a middle aged man and woman, both with light brown hair, walked through SPR's doors. Shifting nervously on their feet, the couple introduced themselves, waiting for Mia to get Naru for the interview. It was almost as if they were nervous about being caught in a place that deals with a paranormal, like they didn't want to be associated with it but circumstances have left them no other choice.

"Mr and Mrs Connor, please take a seat and tell me why you think you are in need of our survives." Naru said courtly.

They did. It was not as advanced as the other haunting a SPR had investigated. A few banging doors, cold spots are felt but that just sounded like their standard poltergeist. However as Mai heard the story, although Naru didn't seem interested in it, Mai felt pull towards the case. It felt like if she didn't take this case something really bad would happen to these people.

As Mr and Mrs Connor walked out of Shibuya psychic research, a young transparent girl hoped... Or prayed that those people could help them because there was only so much the she could do.

"Naru, are you going to take the case?" Mai asked cautiously making Naru wonder why am seemed so interested in this case. It was a simple poltergeist haunting...

"No." A pang of annoyance ran through Mai.

"Why not?" She demanded.

"Because it is a simple haunting. To easy for my level." Mai's snort of amusement drew Naru's attention to Mai's lips. Full and pink it took Naru a large amount of strength to look into the eyes of a very pissed off Mai.

"Fine." She sang, as if she had an idea. "I'll go ask Kaito to help me."

Naru shifted uncomfortably and glared at the doorway that Mai had just skipped out of. Sighing, Naru pinches the bridge of his nose, with his eyes closed he thought that now he has to take this case because there was no way he was letting Mai go with Kaito. Especially since along with Kaito would be Sora, the hormonal teenager that will stop at nothing to get a kiss from Mai.

"Lin pack the car, were taking the case." Lin couldn't help the small smirk that slipped his facade. Mai had him wrapped around her finger and she didn't even know it, he thought with amusement as the Chinese man started loading the van.

Once loaded the van was on the road. Lin up front driving, Mai asleep with Naru in the back. John following behind in his car- there was no need for everyone else Naru thinks it will be an easy case. Mai on the other hand thinks that Naru couldn't be anymore wrong.

During the trip, Mai dreamed, Mai dreamed about reality. She was sitting beside her sleeping figure, looking out the window, looking at the faceless creature that sent chills up her spine. They were still watching her. Mai turned around and looked out Naru's window. The same faceless creature looked back.

They soon disappeared into the distance only to be replaced by other different yet similar faceless creatures. Their 'faces' watched me, searching for my weaknesses. They wanted me. I could feel that they wanted me. It practically radiated off of them.

Mai woke up shivering uncontrollably stared out of Naru's window trying to find even the faintest trace of the things that stalked her.


	17. Case 4: If only you believed me part 3

It has been almost a week since SPR had come on the case and so far there has been no spiritual activity. There was no temperatures drops nor was there any energy fluctuations. However Mai is determined to stay and believed that something is happening, quoting, "it's normal for psychic phenomena to stop temporarily when an outsider comes in." But Naru was getting frustrated. There couldn't be anything paranormal here.

"Lin, Mai there is nothing we can do here. Let's pack up and go." Naru's authoritative voice boomed.

"No, we can't go!" Mai exclaimed, refusing to even touch the equipment.

"Mai there has been no activity."

"So what there was no activity for a while on my old school house case. No I am not leaving." Argued Mai before storming out of the room they are using as base. Mai stomped all the way to her bedroom door, making sure to make as much noise as she could in her frustration, before she calmed down.

As she opened the door she saw two black silhouetted figures, "what are yo-" her question was cut of abruptly as the two large male figures ran towards her. Startled Mai shrieked before they grabbed her, stuffed a rag in her face and fell into blackness with the sharp smell of chloroform.

Upon hearing Mai scream, Naru sprang into action before Lin could even process what had happened. It was probably just another encounter with a ghost, Mai can protect herself she had proven that. Naru tried to convince himself but something didn't feel right.

Pulling open door after door after door, Lin and Naru failed to find Mai anywhere. Mai was gone. And Naru wasn't going to leave until he found Mai.

Moving back into the base, Naru began to look at the footage, he watched as Mai stomped angrily into her room and for what seemed like years later he heard Mai shout, "what are yo-?" Before screaming a beat later. Unfortunately there was no camera in Mai's room, all Naru had was the footage of the corridor and the audio.

After a while of frustrated silence, Naru searched his mind frantically for a way to find Mai. Unfortunately, he could help but conjure up images of Mai laying dead somewhere and it just made him even more anxious and terrified.

Suddenly, the room temperature dropped drastically and the lights and TVs flickered.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.

What is that? The hairs on Naru's arms began to raise and he suppressed a violent shiver as he glanced at the ghostly figure of a teenager. Drip. Drip. And that was the sound of her translucent blood falling to the floor.

She pointed to the TV screens as they flickered with static, hoping beyond hope that he saw the house that flickered on the screens and the family that had once been within its walls.

Then everything went dark and the deathly pale girl faded leaving behind the words, "if only they had believed me."

Naru and Lin stared at the letters that were written in black charcoal. It didn't make sense, that couldn't be the ghost they were sent to exorcise. It was too peaceful. It just came and went. And what was that they had seen on the tv screens.

"Lin!" Naru ordered not even having to explain what he wanted. The Chinese man jumped into action, trying to find something, anything that would lead them to Mai.

While Lin worked on the computer, Naru went to the houses library to find old records of previous families. Leafing through Naru found it difficult to concentrate, his mind occupied with worry over Mai. If, no, when he found her he promised himself that he would finally tell her.

He will tell her the reason that he came back. He will tell her that he was sorry, that he, at the time, couldn't believe that Mai had loved him and not Gene. Everyone had always chosen Gene over him. Of course the reason for that was because Naru had never been one for socialising. But with Mai there was no tense silence because she filled it.

Naru didn't know why he had put it off. Maybe it was because now it is him that has the fear of rejection taunting him. Mai must have felt like this, Naru winced at the thought. 'Yeah and that's what you did! You rejected her, and in the worst way possible.'

"Naru I found something." All of Naru's emotional walls went back up with a snap. Lin stood for a second longer making sure Naru had heard him, before walking off, probably towards the computer.

On the screen it said, "Family of Five dead. On the 4th January 1999 the Inoue family had been murdered savagely and only one, Sai Yamada (17), survived. Miss Yamada had named the murderer to be none other than Koga Fujii (27) of the Fujii clan. This suspect was immediately cleared of all charges. The police claim the Miss Yamada was in shock at witnessing the murders of her family to legitimately accuse someone of the crime."

"And look at this" said Lin as he clicked onto yet another newspaper. It was dated a few days after the first.

"In the morning of 7th January 1999, Sai Yamada (17), was found dead with her throat slit open. The police have no leads and have classed it as suicide because of her grieve for her dead family. Her neighbour had found her at 8:35 am in her bedroom. The neighbour said, "at first I thought she was sleeping so I went in to try and wake her up but when I got closer I saw that her neck had been cut." The police have been unwilling to tell us any details on miss Yamada murder/suicide but sources have claimed that in her own blood Yamada had written..."

Naru didn't need to read the rest to know, "if only you had believed me." He said out loud just as Lin had read them.

"So the ghost is Koga Fujii." Naru said,happy to have finally found one piece to this puzzle.

"Not quite."

At this Naru frowned at his assistant but Lin continued, "there is no death certificates for Fujii in fact he has a residence in this town with his son and daughter-in-law."

That's not right, unless...

"Lin call the police."


	18. Case 4: If only you believed me part 4

All around her was water yet it wasn't. When she looked up she looked into a shimmering surface much like the surface of a lake. And it was everywhere; to her left, water; to her right, water; even below her, water.

What is this place? Where was she? Mai blinked open her heavy eyelids and saw with a start the faceless creatures that had followed her. Except now they were closer, much closer. Mai was running out of time she knew it. She had to wake up.

...

In reality, Mai again blinked open her heavy eyelids and this time instead of being met with a vacant, empty face she was met with a sickeningly, toothless smile of an old man. His eyes were hollow without any emotion. His laugh was enough to make a ground warrior shiver with fear.

Looking around Mai only saw darkness. It engulfed everything. It was obvious to Mai that in this room that is no light, there has never been light. In this room that has only been darkness and pain. This is the room where darkness is born, raised and grown.

The smell of dried blood touched Mai's noise but Mai refused to show how disgusted she was. After all it wasn't the smell of the room it was the smell of the old man's breath.

I wave of nausea swept over Mai as she wondered what could cause someone's breath to smell like that; none of them were very pretty.

"You are not Nana. What were you doing in the Connor's house?" The old man said in a grating, stentorian voice that made Mai's blood run cold.

"Visiting." Came her one worded answer.

"Oh!" His voice revealed the surprise that his face refused to. "The Connor's haven't had visitors in a while... So tell me what are you really doing there?"

"Helping a friend of yours put you and your son in prison."

Mai had no idea where that sharp snapping reply came from. She didn't even know the reasoning behind the answer. It just seemed...right...true.

The echoing sound of skin against skin ricocheted against the walls hidden in the darkness. Mai cheek tingled and burned from the impact of the hit and her vision began a blur. The only thing that kept her conscious was the fact that if she closed her eyes she would no doubt see the faceless silent ones have again come closer to Mai. Eventually they will be so close that they could and would invade her body, taking it for themselves.

Stay wake. Stay wake. Stay wake. Mai's mind chanted.

Back at the Connor's house the police had finally shown put but, much to Naru's annoyance, they did not believe a word of what Naru and Lin had told them. After all the Fuji's are still one of the most respected members of the town.

"Listen." Naru whispered deadly, "if you are given a formal complaint it is your duty to look into it. If not I will personally ensure that there is a request for your dismissal within the police on somebody's desk."

The police officers visibly gulped and there was a panicked glint in their eyes. "I will not waste my time with incapable police officers when my assistant may have been kidnapped by these people that you so easily brush off as unable to commit a crime."

Within half an hour there was police heading towards the Fuji's house, Naru was following looking as stern and emotionless as ever but that masked the strong fear and panic he was holding on the inside.

Ten minutes later Naru watched as a police officer knocked on the door calling the usual words they do whenever they are trying to get into someone's house. As a young man opened the door Mai's scream echoed in Naru's head along with the last words in the video recording.

The man stepped away from the door frame and welcomed the officer into his house, there was a sharp pain in the palm of Naru's hand where he had dug his nails into the skin a drew blood.

Naru knew that he couldn't do anything, that the police that stood in the small paved pathway and searched the Fuji's mansion had to do it, he was a spectator and he would make sure that they did their jobs right. Mai was here he knew it. Now it was up to the police to find her.

1 minute. 5 minutes. 10 minutes. 30 minutes.

Time seemed to almost completely stop as they searched the house and then he heard it. An ear piercing, heart shattering scream that could only belong to one person...

But was it the scream that gave the proof of her life or the scream that will lead her to deaths gates?

"We got her!" The gruff, husky voice of a police officer called and seconds later he came through the door carrying, a lump and unconscious, Mai bride style out of the house. Quickly the paramedics put Mai into the ambulance without Naru even managing a glance at her.

"Lin come on." Naru said, his voice cracked giving away the worry that now penetrated his facade.


	19. The Silent Ones

Chapter 20

Mai was semi-conscious and had been ever since that mind rattling hit. She knew that she had screamed out loud but it wasn't from pain but terror, for now she could see them. Even though she was not in a deep sleep, they were there as clear to her as they had been so many times before. Closer than they have ever been before.

They were too close.

Mai could see the hollows of their eyes and cheeks. The thin white line of lips and the pale baldness of their heads. It eerie and terrifying.

She felt ghost arms wrap around her and a loud male voice call something out, but she didn't listen. She closed her eyes wishing away the silent one, wishing beyond hope that her mother, her family had found something to save her from them. But they hadn't. Her wishes were futile. When she closed her eyes she could see them and now when they were open she could see them too. Getting closer and closer. Aways getting closer and closer.

Mai didn't know if she could be saved anymore. Her exposure to the supernatural world was too early. Way too early. That's why she had to get stronger. She wanted to live.

...beep...beep...beep...

...

Mai groaned at the incessant beeping noise that had woke her. Then all the memories came tumbling down on her and her eyes shot open. Fear spiked through her and she screamed long and loud at the paper white figure inches away from her face. The beeping monitor suddenly became as erratic as my frantic terror filled heart.

Almost instantly figures flocked to Mai. To them she seemed to stare blankly ahead, looking at nothing in particular, to Mai the face was all she could see and it petrified her.

Then in the doorway another female voice screamed out of shock and fear.

Masako scream and stumbled to the floor and she saw a black cloaked figure inches from Mai. It was obvious that none of the doctors or the rest of SPR could seen it, but Masako could and Mai could as well.

"Masako are you okay?" John asked, his British accent licking his words.

"Th-th-there's s-somethingg I-in-in front of Mai." Masako stuttered. Everyone turns to look at Mai, confused. They squinted at the place where Mai stared but saw nothing. Even Naru was perplexed - it was something only Mai and Masako could see.

Naru watched as Mai blinked in surprise and then searched wildly around her, her eyes fell on the darkened corner of the the room. Masako also followed the unseen movement of the figure and then behind she heard more gasps of fear. Masako didn't know how or why but now everyone could see the shadowy figure.

Then it was gone.

The tension in the room melted into nothing.

Questioning eyes fell onto Mai.

'Great' Mai thought sarcastically. 'Now I'm going to have to explain everything'. Mai sighed waiting for someone to ask the first question.

"What was that?" Monk said inquisitively.

For a second Mai didn't reply, Naru looked at her with one eyebrow raised questioningly, then she took a deep breath and said in a neutral tone, "a silent one."

Masako smirks, "you don't even know yourself." She laughed and Naru glared at her. Annoyed at the renounced medium for interrupting. The only thing that kept Naru from shouting at her to shut up, was that he saw Masako was trembling from head to toe with fear. It didn't matter what the creature was, it had scared her.

"Oh I don't pretend to know everything about them, what was written wasn't a lot, but I do know something. They watch you. They wait for the perfect moment to attack. You can't see them when you are wake but they are there. They haunt you at your weakest to weaken you even more. Out of all the supernatural world, no, out off all of these worlds they are the most feared because they are the best kind of predictor. They wait, they stalk and they learn. Yet as they do we do not learn anything about them."

Mai's voice was deadly. It set a chill up everyone's spine and made even Naru feel the uneasy knot that was forming in his stomach. "And what will happen once the time is right?"

Mai took in a sharp breath. This was it. This was the question Mai had been waiting for ever since she had rejoined SPR. "They will destroy my soul and take my body as their own. That is what all spirits want from me."


	20. The Truth

The silence was like a vacuum, creating an overwhelming sense of emptiness.

They would destroy Mai.

"What? Why you? Why are you so important?" Masako screamed as if being their prey was some kind of honor.

Naru swore he saw a vein burst in Mai forehead, her anger at Masako seeping through. "Your welcome to take my place. You try to protect yourself for five years from any spirit, ghost or malevolent supernatural creature out there that thirsts for life."

Mai's eyes flamed with rage, "You try to control a PK so strong that if used incorrectly it could rip you apart in a microsecond." Then Mai's voice become emotionless, lifeless, "You try going to sleep and watching as those creatures, those things, get closer and closer to you every day."

Naru could see the pain and sorrow in Mai's eyes and it hurt him to see her like that. He wanted to go over to her and hold her. So he did. Screw what everyone thinks, Mai needs him and he needed to comfort her.

Naru sat on the hospital bed wrapping his arm around Mai and lacing his fingers with hers. For a moment Mai froze, sitting stiffly, but then she slowly relaxed. "Miss Hara I think it is time you leave."

Everyone stood in the small private hospital room, shocked at Naru's show of affection. Lin coughed, trying to hide the laugh that was bubbling up inside, 'so Noll finally made his move' he though with humor. Then Masako left hiding her face behind her sleeve and all but stormed out of the room.

5 minutes after Masako left and Naru's bold attempt at comfort towards Mai, everyone except Naru made there excuses and left. In an effort to leave the soon-to-be-couple to themselves.

Mai yawned but tried to, unsuccessfully, muffle it with her hand. "You should sleep." Naru said, Mai thought she heard something in his voice... Concern?

Mai looked up into Naru's grey blue eyes and Naru saw a flash of fear before Mai whispered, "I don't want to... Every time I fall asleep they are there. Every time they get closer and closer..."

Mai cut off from what she was saying when she felt Naru's hands on her hips, lying her down in the bed. Naru then lay down beside her and sighed. "That's why I'm not going to leave you. I'll stay right here so they won't find you vulnerable."

For some reason Mai believed him. She shifted and turned herself into Naru's chest, murmuring 'thank you' before falling into a peaceful sleep.

Naru held Mai even closer to him as he heard her breathing become slower and lighter. Then once he know she was in a deep sleep he tucked her head in the crook of his

neck and fell into his usual light sleep, ready at a moments notice if needed.

Naru woke when he heard shuffling outside of the hospital door, then there was a light knock before a nurse walked it. She smiled when she saw that he was awake and whispered just enough for him to hear, "I just need to run a check up, then hopefully in a few hours she can be release." Naru nodded and watched the nurse go about her work.

When she had closed the door, Naru check his phone which he had been left resting on the small wooden bedside table, the time was 3:48 am and he estimated he went to sleep about 11:30 pm. He sighed then shifted to get comfortable, holding Mai closer then he then promptly went back to sleep.

Mai groaned as the light streaming in from the flimsy hospital curtains woke her. Refusing to get up Mai berried her head deeper into the warmth in front of her, efficiently blocking out the light. She stiffened realizing that the warmth that engulfed her had the unmistakable feeling of firm muscles.

Mai breathed in a sharp breath and caught a hint of male deodorant. Cracking open her eye Mai stared at the well muscled chest that slowly expanded and contracted. Naru. She though and smiled to herself.

"I know I'm handsome and everything but are you going to keep stare at my chest like that, even I get self conscious sometimes." A voice said with the slightest hint of teasing in it. Mai looked up into Naru's eyes and seeing the smirk that was placed on the narcissistic scientist's face Mai uttered, "JERK."

Naru continued to smirk and he saw a rosy blush tint Mai's cheeks and then, if possible, he's smirk got winded when she said, "thank you."

"So no dreams. No silent ones." Naru asked now serious.

"Nope" Mai popped the 'p', "I slept better than I had all week."

"Good because everyone is waiting for you to... continue explaining why..." Mai looked at Naru with amusement and agitation. Amusement for Naru's hesitancy about the topic of conversation and agitation because Mai new she would have to reveal everything.

Mai nodded in silent agreement, felling herself detach from her emotions. The wall between her head and heart heart rose, now she was unperturbed by the world around her.

Naru noticed the exact moment when Mai locked herself into a fabricated box. He had done it himself so many times, even before Gene had been murdered.

Naru and Mai stood up and left the hospital room. Not even caring that they were wearing crumpled, day old clothes and that they hadn't had a shower or brushed their teeth. They could do that later. Mai had already prepared herself for the upcoming discussion.

Mai found out that Naru had already had Lin sign the release papers and the Chinese man was waiting outside for them. The car ride over to the Connor's house was short and quite. Anticipation filling the air. And when Lin pulled into the Connor's drive way she could only think of one thing.

It's time.

Feeling all eyes on her, Mai dragged in a breath wanting nothing more than to hide behind Naru. Who, at the moment, stood beside her like a pillar of strength.

"Um, I,I suppose I should start from the beginning..." SPR nodded and smiled wearily at her. Mai had to hold back a snort of amusement.

"Two years ago when Lin and Naru left, SPR just dispersed. I found a job somewhere else and passed school with good grades. Then about 5 months later, I was walking home. It was dark out and the streets were almost empty. As I walked past a house I caught a flash of red out of the corner of my eye and turned to see..." Mai paused as the memory can back to her. Her heart beat loudly in her chest and her fear spiked, causing blood to rush through her veins.

"All i saw were red eyes peering at me from the window and i was stuck. My body moved towards the house but it wasn't me moving. It was like i was a puppet and,

whatever the red eyes belonged to, was a puppeteer. No matter how hard, loud and desperate i screamed, no noise left my mouth." Everyone's eyes were transfixed on Mai as she told her story.

She told them about entering the house and climbing the stairs and about how she came face to face with the creature. Chills swept through the air and everyone shivered at Mai vivid description.

"It was a fallen one. Of course i didn't know that yet... I thought i was dead, i knew i would die. And then Kaito and his team crashed into the room, doing god knows what and shoving me out of the attic. I was in shock at one point- I didn't know how i had got from the attic to my home but i did. And from then on a stayed with Kaito. It was like having a family again."

Guilt reared its head within every SPR member. Mai was only sixteen then and she was a ghost magnet. They knew she was a ghost magnet yet the left her.

Mai continued to speak. Describing her dream of a past memory. Her mothers death. She told them about her mother, grandmothers and great-grand mothers journals and their revelations on the ghosts that they had come across.

"So i started to train. Kaito and the team helped me and so did archery lessons. And as i read the journal a found why i was such a ghost magnet." Everyone was on the edge of their seats (well except for the moody Masako, Naru and Lin). "Astral projection is an extremely rare ability, in fact only one person every generation can have it and, as far as i know, only one blood line. My mother and her mother before her. And so on a so forth throughout the Tatuki blood line. However the attacks stop once you reach 21. It seems that the body has to be young for the ghost to control."

"But how? Why can't a ghost take control of any body?" Monk asked.

"When i astral project my soul leaves my body but my body still lives and breaths. If Naru's soul, for instance, left his body he would die. Simply because the connect is severed and the body feels it. I can sever my connection without my body dying and that makes my body the perfect target of those who want to live once more. They could destroy my soul and take my body as their own, whereas they will have to settle for possession and share a body with its original owner."

At that moment everything clicked together for Naru. Because to take over a body completely (not possessing it for a period of time) requires that the soul of the living person is pushed out of the body and destroyed. However usually when the soul is destroyed the body dies. Mai's soul can live without a body and her body can live without a soul, the proof is her being able to astral project.

"What is a fallen one?"

"A fallen one is the spirit of a psychic who has been consumed by their powers thus killing them."

...

Well, that went well. Mai thought as she stood in her empty hospital room ready to leave.

No one had spoke much after that but every was thinking the same thing. Naru could become a fallen one. And if he did there are only two people who could stop him from his murderous rampage Kaito or Mai.

A knock at the door pulled Mai out of her thoughts. Naru was standing in the doorway with an awkward smile on his lips and Mai tilted her head to the side in a silent question, what?

"You can now go home but..." Naru stopped as if suddenly unsure of himself. It was weird, what happened to the egotistical and arrogant Naru she had known two days ago. What happened to his strong and silently protective persona that she had known 48 hours ago? "... Lin and I thought it best if you stayed with us. Just so we can keep an eye on you." Knowing that she didn't have the energy left in her to fight Naru on this one, she nodded her agreement.

Naru physically and mentally relaxed as Mai agreed to go home with him. He needed to know she was safe and the only way for that to happen is if he is the one protecting her. After all, it seems that whenever Naru leave Mai gets into some sort of trouble.

The drive to Naru's apartment was silent but- oddly- not uncomfortable and stranded. Maybe it was because Mai was still working the drugs out of her system, Mai was always the one to liven up the long, tiresome car journeys. Mai closed her eyes and dreamed. Not of the faceless creatures that hid in the darkness of unconsciousness but about angelic people that watched from the light. They weren't really angels but they could have been since their beauty was pure and magnificent.

"What belongs to you but people use it more than you do?" One of them giggled and skipped at another.

She also giggled and said, "What is it that you will break even when you name it?".

Then a third woman appeared saying, "When you are born you are already known. When your conceived you already exist. Find what belongs and the Silent will be gone. The Unknown will be Know. For that is what the soundless want, to be noise."


	21. The Meaning

Mai woke up refreshed and in an unfamiliar room. Her dream was still vivid in her mind and for some reason she knew that it wasn't just a dream. There was something more to it. Mai knew her imagination was good but it couldn't be that good. So before Mai could forget the details she had to write them down.

From downstairs Naru could here lots of rustling and thumping and began to get worried. Maybe Mai had woken up in a panic or has injured herself... Or maybe the creatures had returned. Quickly he sprang to his feet and went up the stairs two at a time, never stopping until he reached Mai's room. Naru didn't bother knocking- it was his apartment- and he was too worried to care about being polite. With his heart pounding in his chest, he pushed open the door to reveal Mai raiding the draws.

"What are you doing?" His voice was stern but inside Naru couldn't hide the amusement he felt. There was just something funny about Mai ruffling through his things with such determination. He could tell the she also saw that amusement because ever since they met she has been able to see right through him.

Mai had the strangest ability to see the true nature of something. It was instinct to her. Naru knew, from the moment he met her scrutinizing gaze in her high school classroom, that she could see right through the roles he had played during the investigation.

Mai stiffed and looked up wanting nothing more than to make a snappy, smart-mouthed comment, however first she needed a pen and piece of paper. "I'm looking for something to write with, if you must know."

Curiosity blazed in Naru's eyes as he reached into his pocket for a note pad and pen- he had always made it a habit to carry one just in case.

Mai grabbed for them and frantically began to write down everything the women had said in the dream. "What is that?" Naru asked as he sat down beside her on the hard wooden floor. She felt his body heat radiate to her and it took all her will power not to lean into him, close her eyes and wish that she was normal.

"I heard it in my dream. It seemed important..." I couldn't really explain why these riddles were important but they were, i knew it. It was something to do with the silent ones. It was like they wanted to help me, like they were hinting at a way to defeat them.

"The first answer has to be your name." Naru said as he read the riddle 'What belongs to you but people use it more than you do?'.

Mai nodded and said, "The next one is silence, but i don't really understand the last one. What about you?" Naru shook his head, reading and re-reading the riddle but not making any sense of it at all.

Mai sighed and tucked it into her pocket, "I'll come back to it later." After all it is proven that you always understand something better when you take a break and come back to it.

With that, Mai went downstairs with Naru at her side and as the day continued Mai found herself relaxing more and more. Naru obviously had money but he didn't splash it around. The apartment was a simple two bedroom apartment with one bathroom, kitchen and living room. Lin lived next door. This made it obvious that the men like their own space.

"Naru...?" I asked interrupting the silence. He looked up showing that he had heard her, "if i am going to stay hear. I'm going to need my stuff."

Naru nodded at the hidden question and then motioned to the door. "I had Miss Matsuzaki go to your house and pack a couple of suit cases while you were asleep." He said. While on the car ride here, he had decided that he wasn't going to let Mai out of his sight. Even when she was sleeping he had sat in her room for hours, until he realized that Mai would scream at him to leave if she found him in the room.

The silence then continue. Naru, Mai learned, was not much of a talker. However, fortunately for her, she was. "So, how was England?"

"It was good."

"Really, maybe one day i will go. I've gotten better at my English and a couple of other languages. What did you do in England?" Naru could tell that Mai was trying to fill the silence and found it amusing. He also found it enlightening that Mai had achieved a lot in his absence. She had always struggled with English and now she knows more that 3 other languages.

"Work."

Mai frowned and then sighed. This wasn't getting anywhere. Naru is just as stubborn and boring as when she first met him, and for some unfathomable reason she loved this stubborn, boring man.

Mai just gave up and took out the piece of paper that had the 3 riddles written on it. "When you are born you are already your conceived you already exist. Find what belongs and the Silent will be gone. The Unknown will be Know. For that is what the soundless want, to be noise." I muttered out loud. This could mean anything. What were these woman hinting about? Why wouldn't they give me any instructions for my to build...

That's it! They had given my instructions. The answers to the last to riddles were name and silence. So this riddle means that When you are born you already have a name and when you are conceived that is when parents start thinking of names for there children. Maybe...Maybe i'm suppose to find the identities of the Silent ones? They want to kill me because they want to exist, they want to be noticed, maybe they are...

"Impossible." I whispered out loud in astonishment. Naru upon hearing her looked up from his book. She stared flabbergasted at the piece of paper and his inquisitiveness got the better of him.

"What?"

"I, I think i know what the riddle means." Mai looked up and amazement and excitement shone through her eyes.

Naru raised his eyebrows and asked the question once again, but silently, what?

"I think that i silent ones are those how didn't get the chance to live. Those who were never named because for some reason or another they were not born into this world." Mai looked at Naru and saw the perplexed expression on his face, "Ghost's want me because they want to live again but what if these spirits want to live for once. That is what the riddle suggests. 'For that is what the soundless want, to be noise.' I think we have to find the names of the creatures. I think we have to give them a face."

Naru stared at Mai. What she was saying made sense but it was near impossible? There are probably thousands of people who had had abortions or miscarriages or had a child die during birth. How were we going to find a name for all of them.


	22. Case 5: Water prints part 1

**Hey, sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. I had a crawler virus on my computer. Thankfully I have a friend who is good at computers but I had change all of my passwords**

It was a couple of hours past mid-night and Mai slept soundly in her room while Naru slept in his. The apartment was shrouded in peace that followed the darkness of night. There was noting but Naru's and Mai's quiet snores and rhythmic breathing.

As the temperature gradually dropped, Mai shivered as shifted trying to find some warmth. Instead she started awake, turned of her back and let out a startled scream. The faceless creature stared back at her. Mai pressed her hands into her mouth trying to stifle the new scream that rose up within her.

Slowly it reached out and grabbed her wrist. It burned but it was a cold burn. Like that hand was liquid nitrogen, it froze my wrist to the bone. Then the hand disappeared as the sound of the door slamming into the wall behind it told the creature that we were not alone.

Naru pushed the door to Mai's bedroom open and caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure before it vanished into nothing. They had come for her again. And this time they were close.

He knew by the way Mai shivered uncontrollably in her bed and by her lips, which had now turned a pale blue. Rushing over to her, he sat down and rubbed her upper arms hoping the friction and his body temperature would warm her up.

Mai said nothing, she couldn't. She could hardly stop her teeth from chattering. So, Mai resolved to lean into Naru and take as much body heat as he was offering. She did however try to move in order to turn on a light but Naru got there first. Reaching and yanking on the chain that turned on the bedside lamp, before he returned to rubbing her arms.

Naru watched Mai's every move, waiting for some indication that she was okay. Instead she raised her wrist and Naru's heart pounded with fear and rage. Large blue vain-like roots wrapped around Mai's wrist in the shape of a hand print. The rest of the mark was a firey red than looked bistered and swollen. It would have taken hours for the cold to do that to someone yet it took the Silent One no more than a minute.

The air in the room was also frosty. Naru was starting to be able to see his breaths as they came steadily from his mouth. There was no point in turning on the heaters, it would still take the room ages to go back to it normal temperature, and there was no way he was leaving Mai alone. Again.

Not asking for her permission, Naru pick Mai up bride style and carried her from her room. Instantly she felt warming as she left the cold bedroom behind her. Naru gently kicked his bedroom door open and brought Mai in. He put her down on his bed and went to close his door.

Mai sighed contently as she curled up in the spot where Naru no doubt slept. She could still feel the warm radiating from it. Yet she knew the heat wasn't still trembled, her lips were still blue and her wrist burned angrily. She felt the bed dip and a hand gently touching hers. Mai wanted to look up into Naru's dark eyes but didn't, preferring to keep her ice cold lips pressed into the heart of the mattress.

Naru lightly applied Doxepin Cream to Mai's burn before wrapping a bandage around it. It felt better, cooling her burning flesh, if only slightly.

Naru moved to get up, intent on sleeping on the chair for the rest of the night, but was stopped as a small hand grabbed his. Looking down Naru saw the quivering Mai looked back at him with pleading eyes? His heart leaped in his chest and the thought of sleeping next to Mai yet again.

One part of his mind told him that Mai was excepting him. The other part told him that Mai was in shock, this was her moment of weakness and she was clinging on to the only strength in the vicinity. Still Naru couldn't deny her anything- not anymore.

Naru lay on his back falling slowly and cautiously into sleep. Mai moved towards his warmth, resting her head on his chest and wrapping her arm bad arm and leg around Naru's body.

Naru's eyes shot open in shock but he said nothing and just hugged Mai closer...

Mai couldn't breath. She looked around her and saw blue and black and red. She was in water. She was in a car under water. And she wasn't alone. Beside her car was a red bus. She saw fist smashing uselessly against the windows and doors just as the body she was in did the same.

Once again Mai made an attempt to pull herself from the body. To ensure that no harm would come to her body when she returned to it. But she couldn't. Mai didn't know if it was the spirits strength that was keeping her in the body or her weakness from her previous attack moments ago. However the one thing she knew was that if she couldn't get out then her body was probably choking and spluttering out none existent water.

The body she was in was panicked and, obviously, male. Her vision moved rapidly from side to side as the ma searched for something. Anything. Ah, there. A masculine hand grabbed at the tool box and, not bothering to open it, smashed it into the window of the car. It broke. For a second he struggled against the seat belt and then he was swimming through the window.

Mai felt the pain of a piece of gagged glass as it ripped at her stomach. She could she the blood mixing with the water. Mai assumed the man was going for the surface but he didn't instead he swam to the bus. His mind was consumed with thoughts to save them. He wasn't afraid of death. In fact he wanted to die. He had caused the accident and didn't want to live with the guilt that came with these peoples deaths.

The man pulled at the doors, but nothing budged. He pulled again and again. Then positioning his feet on either side of the doorway, he pulled with all the strength he hand in him. Ignoring his lungs cry for air he heaved, yanked and tugged and the doors finally gave way. As the people rushed out the man gave it to the water and he sunk. Deeper and deeper into the depth of the lake.

Mai woke up coughing and grasping at her throat. She felt blood soaking her stomach and the ache of fresh wounds on her hands. Naru's worried gaze locked with hers and she stared into his dark indigo eyes feeling her skin slowly knit back together.


	23. Case 5: Water prints part 2

After Mai's second disturbance of the night it was impossible for her to sleep. There was just no way she could close her eyes and relax either to drift off into the world of dreams, even if Naru was with her. So, begrudgingly, she had went down to the living room to watch TV insisting that Naru should get some more sleep.

Mai couldn't stop her mind flashing back to her dream. It was obvious that the ghost was calling out to her in someway but will this case be delivered to her? Or will she have to go out and search for the case herself? That was the only problem when Mai had dreams like this, she didn't know what to do with it.

Sometime during the early morning Mai must have fell asleep because when Naru got downstairs already showered and clean, Mai was soundly sleeping on the sofa. In the corner of the room was a shadowed figure, they never give up. He didn't know why he could suddenly see the creature; maybe it was because he was now aware of their existence or because they are growing impatient. He didn't know. As he continued to stare at the Silent One it slowly faded away.

Naru sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, it was a habit of his and the only outward sign of his frustration, then went to wake Mai up. Mai, slept curled protectively into a ball. Her legs were drawn up to her chest and both her arms were wrapped around her stomach as if she was trying to keep the cold out.

"Mai." Naru murmured with such gentleness that it shocked him. "Mai." He said louder when he didn't get a response but this time he did. Mai groaned and turned on her back only to find herself looking into Naru's blue piercing gaze.

Naru watched as Mai's mouth opened and closed. He became entranced by the movement and wanted nothing more than to kiss them, but he wouldn't. Not yet at , the movement of Mai's mouth finally made sense when she said the words, "You have to take the case."

"Case? What case?"

Mai slowly moved off the sofa and she suddenly knew why she had gotten that dream and where to find that spirit. When Mai had woken up she had instantly felt the pull, it compelled her, it urged her to follow. So she did. Mai began to walk falling the tugging that her own spirit felt. It was like there was a string attached to her wrist and someone was pulling it.

When the tugging finally stopped she was in front of a pile of files and she began to rifle through them. There was 10 in all but Mai only needed one.

Naru observed Mai as she selected one of the files that Lin had handed to him the other day. With his worry for Mai, he hadn't really taken much time to look through them but he would never admit that.

"This one." Mai cheered and handed the file to Naru.

He began to flip through it. There was the usual poltergeist activity: knocking, temperature drops, objects being moved but the was also something else. People had claimed to have strange nightmares. The same nightmares over and over again and wet foot prints were always found outside the door of the dreamer. Naru glanced at Mai and saw her nervously chewing on her lip.

"What happened in your dream?" He asked in my business voice. Naru felt a pinch of guilt when he saw she eyes darken from an unidentified emotion before she told me.

Mai's dreams or psychic visions have always been horrible and in some cases gruesome, this one was no exception. Neither of them wanted to take the case but they felt that they had to. Maybe along the way they could find more answers about the Silent Ones.

After Mai had told Naru about the dream, he had immediately called the client and told them that we would be taking their case. Of course, the clients were thrill but Lin on the other hand wasn't. Great, Mai thought, as if i needed another reason for him to hate me.

The whole team had decided that they would take the case and within a few hours we were driving to a resort near Lake Shojiko, which was likely where the man had died.

Once the team had arrived they had quickly began setting up their equipment. However, as Mai was about to go off and do her usual job of putting out the individual cameras, Naru stopped her.

"Mai, wait." He said and grabbed her wrist, "Your staying where I can see you." Naru didn't care about Masako's angry glare or the stunned stares of the rest of the team. He wanted Mai safe and the only way to guarantee that is if she stays with him.

Mai looked into his eyes and saw the raw determination in them. So she gave up, there was no use fighting Naru, once his mind was set on something then he did it. She had learnt that on their very first case together.

She felt guilty, Mai was practically sitting down and twiddling her thumbs, as everyone did the work. She felt very guilty. Yasu had been given the task of putting the cameras up and Masako had now been sent of on tea duty (furiously- If looks could kill Mai would probably be dead by now).

When Masako came back and gave Naru his tea, she stood beside him waiting and watching as he gently swallowed a gulp. As Naru tasted the tea he couldn't stop a grimace cross his face. It tasted... sickening? Not particularly disgusting but it just didn't taste as good as Mai's. He knew that it wasn't the tea though- back in England he had drank dozens of exquisite tea- no it was the person who made the tea. Naru liked Mai's tea because she is the one who made it.

For the rest of the day Naru had refused to drink anymore of the tea Masako had to offer, much to her displeasure.

It was about two o'clock in the morning and Mai and Naru were still in the base. At the moment Mai was trying to fight the ever increasing grogginess that came with sleep. Her eyelids were heavy and she could barely keep them open. When everyone had stared going bed about two hours ago Mai had resisted, she wanted to go with Naru. He was the one that was keeping her monsters at bay. Mai had waited patiently for him to go to bed but now she didn't think she could last much longer.

With so little sleep Mai was staring to get irritable and finally she snapped, "Urg, what is taking you so long? Don't you ever sleep?"

Naru looked up to Mai and smirked. He knew Mai had been waiting for him to go to bed but he wanted the satisfaction of her asking if she could join him. However, he wasn't expecting Mai to grab his arm and pull him towards the boys bedroom.

Once Mai had entered the room she quickly woke up Monk and told him to go watch the cameras before she lay down on his bed and took Naru with her. It was only moments later that sleep claimed her.

Lin and John had awoken when the door had been opened and smiled to themselves. Naru's stubbornness seemed to have driven Mai into being more bold in her actions towards Naru. Yet they had no doubt that their young boss still had no clue about Mai feelings towards him.

About two hours since Mai and Naru had fallen asleep and scream ripped its way through the resort. Naru was the first to get up and follow the scream towards the girls bedroom. Outside the door there was two sets of wet shoe prints on the carpet. One set was leading towards the door and another leading away.

When he pushed open the door, Naru's eyes met with the sight of a sobbing Masako. She wore a white kimono and Ayako was sitting to her right trying unsuccessfully to calm the cry woman.

Masako saw Naru from the corner of her eye at the door and decided to take advantage of the situation. She threw herself at his and cried against his chest. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable but Masako didn't care. She didn't care that Oliver Davis didn't wrap his arms around her. She didn't care that his eyes were always cold and guarded whenever he looked at her. She just wanted him to notice her, like he noticed Mai.

As Masako cried, Naru couldn't stop but think 'Mai would never act like this when she had her dreams and she never has'.

"Masako what did you dream?" Mai's voice came from behind Naru and Masako stopped her sobbing, only to glare hatefully at Mai. Then she quickly flicked her gaze back to Naru.

"Oh, it was awful." She cried dramatically, "The was a bus and it crashed into the lake and i was drowning. I couldn't get out and then i could." Mai knew exactly what Masako was trying to say and so did Naru but to everyone else she was incoherent.

"Masako, you are acting childish." Naru said coldly and pried her arms from around him. She looked heart broken but Mai knew that she would be undeterred from trying to win Naru over.

Mai had a feeling this was going to be a long case.


	24. Case 5: Water prints part 3

"What took you so long?" Yasu asked Ayako and Monk as they finally gathered into the base.

"Sorry, but waking the Old Crone up is like cutting a diamond with you teeth. Add on the fact that we had to wait for her to put on her make up and..." Monk complained.

WHACK! "What did you say you stupid, useless Monk?" Ayako shouted before hitting Monk once again. How could he treat a woman so disrespectfully, she thought.

Naru sighed didn't these two know how to behave like civilized adults? He shook his head in disapproval but decided the Monk and Miss Matsuzaki were not that bad, when she saw Mai giggle and smile affectionately at them.

"Guys, I think you should all calm down." John tried. Ah, John, the self assigned peace maker.

"Calm down, this hag is the one who keeps hitting me." Monk whined.

"I'll give you old hag." Ayako shouted before hitting a fleeing Monk with her bag. Mai left relief and happiness fill her and she couldn't stop it as it bobbled over and sent her into a fit of hysterical giggles.

Mai laughed so much that her throat had become sore and so hard that she, much to her embarrassment, snorted. Once she calmed down, she clutched at her stomach and wheezed, "I'm sor-sorry. You guys haven't acted like that since SPR was reformed." And it was true. Mai had seen how everyone appeared to walk on egg shells around her and more so after they met Kaito and the team. It was like they were scared that she would run away or something.

"Awww, Mai, i'm sorry." Yasu exclaimed teasingly as he wrapped his arms around her and put his chin on her head.

The sound of Naru clearing his throat brought everyone back to attention. "Right I would like Hara-san and Brown-san to walk around the resort and see if you can find any spiritual hot spots. Takigawa and Yasuhara can question the resort owners and any guests that might be staying. Me, Lin and Mai will stay in the base whilst Miss Matsuzaki measures the temperatures in each room."

"What! Every room?" Ayako exclaimed, "There are probably like fifty rooms in this place."

"So, get the readings for all fifty." He said uncaring.

Ayako hung her head, muttering "Stupid, arrogant teenage boy." However Naru just ignored her.

Once he had called the meeting to an end, everyone split up to do there set jobs.

Mai was sitting on the sofa bored as she watched Naru flick through pages and pages of information and Lin typing at the computer. Why did she have to be stuck with the two most anti-social people in the world? With the lack on conversation in the room it wasn't long before Mai drifted off into sleep.

Mai opened her eyes only to find herself at Lake Shojiko. For a moment it looked peaceful, the waters surface was undisturbed and the hot sunny day was tranquil. That was until a young man burst from the water choking and spluttering. "HELP!" He screamed but no one could hear him.

Then two more, no three more, people pulled their heads above the water. As more and more people swan to the surface the tranquility was soon shattered by the terrified cries and screams of help from the people. Mai eyes kept searching for the man that she had been in her previous dream but she could not see him. In fact there was no man with a gash across there stomach. With sorrow, Mai realised that he didn't make it out.

Then suddenly Mai dream shifted.

"They don't remember. Why don't they remember? They should remember. They don't remember. Why don't they remember? They should remember." A mans voice mumbled repetitively. She began walking in the direction of the voice, her foot steps echoing in the empty void. "They don't remember. Why don't they remember? They should remember."

Seconds later Mai came across a figure. A man. He sat crouched on the non-existent floor, rocking back and forth. "They don't remember..." He continued and raked his fingers through his hair. "Why don't they remember?" His voice was getting louder now and instead of raking his fingers through his hair, he began tugging it. Then he was gone.

In a flash, the mans cold, blue face was in front of Mai's and he screamed, "THEY SHOULD REMEMBER!"

Mai's shriek startled Lin and Naru out of their peaceful research and her body jerked awake instantly.

"Mai, are you okay?" Naru asked urgently, thinking that the faceless creature had once again entered her dreams.

For some reason Mai was suddenly extremely irritated at Naru's calm, cool exterior that he managed to show even at times like these. "I just had a crazy scary dream and your asking if i'm okay?" Mai said hysterically, "Your lucky i don't stab you in the eye with my keys."

Naru's eyebrows shot up in surprise at Mai's out burst. She was panting and she looked even more exhausted than when she feel asleep. "Sorry." She muttered once she had calmed down, "I don't know where that came from."

And she didn't. The anger Mai just channeled didn't feel like her own. When she woke up she must have channeled some of the ghosts anger. But why was he angry? He have saved those people. He had saved so many people, so why? "THEY SHOULD REMEMBER" Mai ask outloud. "He must resent they for forgetting it."

"Mai, what are you talking about?" Lin asked.

"It was something the man kept saying, "They don't remember. Why don't they remember? They should remember."" Mai recited and she had to hold back the anger that suddenly flared in her. It wasn't her anger, it was his. For some reason the ghost had formed a connection with Mai. This was both a good and bad this: Good because it shows her that the ghost isn't interested in gaining a new life to live, bad because now all the ghosts memories will be shown to her and all his emotions.


	25. Case 5: Water prints part 4

**Warning: This chapter is T rated. **

The next day Naru stared at four of the forty five screens in shocked confusion. They were black, but still working. It appeared as if they were shimmering, like the background they was focused on was rippling. Mai, seeing Naru do this walked up beside him and frowned. The four camera screens revealed nothing to her.

Naru getting over his shock re-whined the cameras until the screen showed something. The time stamp said two-thirteen in the morning around the time both him and Mai went to sleep. At first there was nothing, then the camera was jolted and then the surrounds moved. Naru and Mai knew that it wasn't really the surrounds that had moved but the camera itself. It was being dragged by something.

Mai quickly re-whined another camera that showed the assault from another angle. What it showed them was peculiar, the camera was being dragged by an invisible force. It was tugged and yanked into the northern forest. Mai groaned, "The lake."

Great, Naru thought with a sigh. He now had four very expensive cameras at the bottom of Lake Shojiko somewhere.

"Why would it do that?" Mai muttered astounded at the ghosts forwardness.

"Do what?" A voice from behind asked causing Mai to jump. Naru, however, did move. He still stood looking at the water flooded camera screens. Mai turned to see Monk frowning slightly as he too looked at the screens.

"The ghost dragged four cameras into the lake."

"It was probably to get our attention." Naru said finally.

The next few hours were boringly uneventful. Mr Akiyama, the client, was a young 20 something, single man who believed that he was Gods gift to woman. Poor Ayako had learned that the hard way...

"Hey, sweetheart." Akiyama-san cooed in a sickeningly sweet voice. Ayako cringed internally and continued waking to the next room, determined to finish getting all the room temperatures like the young boss wanted.

"Why don't you stop working for a while and come with me. I know how to please a woman."

The urge to gag made her stop but she pushed it away and said in a very business-like tone, "Then please leave me alone."

"Don't be like that baby. How about a date this Saturday?"

"With you?"

"Yes."

"Sorry, i'm having a headache this weekend." And with that Ayako stormed off leaving Mr. Casanova frowning in the doorway.

Unfortunately, the client didn't seem to get the hit and when he wasn't chasing Ayako, he was chasing Masako or Mai or one of the poor guests. By the end of the day nothing supernatural had taken place and Mai temper with Mr. Akiyama was now boiling over.

When the infuriating man in question was learning against the base door, something inside Mai snapped. Naru and Lin watched in caution as the small brunette looked about ready to kill the man.

"Go on, don't be shy. Ask me out!" Mr. Akiyama smiled in what he probably thought was seductive.

"Okay, get out." Mai gritted through her teeth. Her hands were in her lap and she felt as her fingers twitched in annoyance, wanting nothing more than to strangle the man in front of her.

Mai groaned inwardly when he stepped into the base and said, "Do you want to have a drink with me?" How can this guy not take a damn hint. No matter how many times you tell him no or say that your not interested he just comes back with new pick up lines and more date ideas. Mai was silently fuming and then she had an idea. This sounds cliche but it is true; it was like a light bulb had suddenly turned on.

"Okay." Mai smiled and Naru's head snapped to hers. Naru's heart beat wildly in his chest as he watch Mai walk slowly towards the grinning client. What is she thinking? Is she really going to go on a date with him? Suddenly his stomach rolled sickeningly with jealousy and regret.

Mai was soon standing face to face with the man and, just as she expected, he wrapped an arm around her. Mai took a deep breath trying to suppress the gleeful grin but it didn't work. "Lets go, baby." He said but she stood still and leaned into him a little.

"I've been wanted to do this for a long time." Bile rose in Naru's throat and he couldn't take his eyes away from Mai as she leaned closer and closer. Then, suddenly Mai kicked her knee into Mr Akiyama's groin. For a second his eyes widened in shock and pain and the he fell to the floor clutching himself. Mai thought she saw tears in his eyes but she didn't feel any pity for him.

She spun around and, still running on her glee, she skipped up to Naru before sitting down on his lap. Naru was in shock and his body reacted of its own accord, wrapping its arms around her and holding her tightly to him.

Akiyama soon stood up with great difficulty and glared at Mai as he leaned panting against the doorway. "Aren't you going to do anything about her?" He shouted looking at Naru.

Naru brought his eyes up, 's shouting snapping him out of his stunned silence. "Why? What I saw was an employee protecting herself from harassment."

His cold calm answer didn't seem to do much for the angry man. "Assault! I will be the one suing her and your company for assault if you don't fire her this instant."

"Now, Mr. Akiyama I don't think that would be a very good idea considering that you are threatening Mr Davis. Also me and Mr Davis have been witnesses to several of your shameless flirting and harassment."

The man visibly gulped as Lin jumped in. He too had had enough of this man displays and thought that he got what her deserved for Mai. However just for safe measure he added, "And I thing we will be able to find some footage for said harassment on some of our tapes." That did it. Mr. Akiyama practically ran from the room in fear.

Mai began to relax grinning widely however that wasn't the only eventful thing for the night. Mai's frown fell when the lights and TV screens began to flicker on and off. The door to the base then closed with a sharp 'BANG' only to be opened and slammed shut again... and again... and again. It wasn't just the base that this happened to but the entire corridor in which the base was situated.

The temperature soon began to drop. Then they heard it, the chanting that Mai had heard in her dreams.

_"They don't remember. Why don't they remember? They should remember. They don't remember. Why don't they remember? They should remember."_


	26. Case 5: Water prints part 5

**Hi, sorry I haven't updated very quickly and i'm sorry it is so short. I promise the next chapter will be longer.**

As quick as the voices came they were gone again and the base was silent and was a still, haunted silence that left nothing but dread to hand in the air.

Masako and John were the ones to break it. They ran down the corridor and into the bases doorway and John shouted, "What was that?"

Masako quickly swept into the room and stood in front of Naru, with her sleeve over her mouth and her eyes full of want and lust. This, of course, snapped Mai out of her stupor. Mai then turned toward Naru, who, in turn, looked up at her. "Do you think it was trying to get our attention again?" She asked.

"He may have been or he could be trying to tell us something..." Naru answered completely ignoring Masako.

"Or he could just be trying to scare us." Lin added, surprising everyone but Naru. The Chinese man mostly kept his ideas to himself or told Naru- he hardly ever shared with the whole team.

As the evening slowly turned to night, Mai once again found herself up past mid-night waiting from Naru. However as she let out a yawn Yasu and Lin walked through the base doorway. Mai took her chance, grabbed Naru by the hand and lead him to the sleeping quarters.

"Finally." She exclaimed, "Have fun guys. Me and Naru are going to sleep."

They continued to walk down the corridor in silence until Mai huffed, "Seriously, how are you not tired? We probably slept for four hours at most last night."

"Not all of us need to sleep all the time Mai." Naru teased but he only caused Mai to frown with worry.

"That is not normal, Naru. People need at least eight hours sleep and if you are not going to sleep that long I will make you." Mai scolded before finding a bed and falling asleep next to Naru.

Oliver lay there, content with watching as Mai slept peacefully beside him, before falling into his usual light sleep.

Back at the base, Yasu and Lin shared a look as they watched Mai dragged a stony faced Oliver Davis to bed. It was obvious that Naru did not want to loss out on any work however it also appeared that he was unable to refuse Mai. Lin was thankful to Mai because at least with her consent need to sleep, Naru would be able to sleep healthier. Yasu hoped that the budding relationship with Mai would soften the young boss up.

The two men didn't talk much to each other but instead began rhythmically tapping at their computers searching for any type of information about the accident that the spirit was involved in. The constant tap, tap, tap seemed to loll the night into still tranquility.

Yasu was the one who found it in a newspaper article dated in 2010- fourteen years ago.

_"On the late night of December 19th, a car and a bus containing twenty nine people was sent plummeting into Lake Shojiko. Kyou Sammiya aged 33 skidded on black ice in front of a bus and both crashed into Lake Shojiko. Fortunately everyone on the bus survived but the drive Mr Sammiya drowned and his body was never found. Witnesses have claimed that the door to the bus was stuck but it somehow was opened, allowing them all to get out safely..." The article read._

"Lin, I think I found it." Yasu called and the middle aged man went over to read the article. Eventually he nodded his head in agreement.

As Lin and Yasu continued to work, in the boys room Monk jumped awake panting and sweating. Images from the nightmare that had just haunted him still floated around in his mind and he gasped wishing he could expel them.

Once Monk had gotten to grips with what he had seen, he began to register the things around him. John slept quietly snoring to his right and Mai and Naru where cuddling together to his left. In the darkness, Monk caught a movement at the door. A pale, slightly glowing man stood in front of the door. His clothes drinking with water that never seemed to reach the ground.

Slowly, the Monk raised his hands to form a symbol and began muttering, "Naumaku Sanmanda Bazaradan Kan. Naumaku Sanmanda Bazaradan Kan." The ghost turned around and let out a feral hiss than awakened Naru and John before disappearing through the door.

John ran over to the wall beside the doorway and flicked the light switch. The men were intently assaulted with the bright white light however their eyes quickly adjusted to see wet foot prints in that seeped into the carpet.

"Takigawa, what happened?" Naru's cold business-like voice cut through the shocked atmosphere.

"I had a dream- maybe the same one as Masako's. I was trapped in a bus that was rapidly being flooded with water. Everyone was desperately beating at the door and windows trying to get out and then... I think I saw a figure outside and then bus doors burst open and I woke up. When I did I saw him, I saw it. I began reciting the protection chant but it vanished before it could take affect." Naru nodded. Then looked down at Mai when she shifted and groaned.

"What the hell are you doing up? Sleep now, work later..." She grumbled unhappily and Naru sighed giving into her.

Monk smirked before whispering, "I'm going to see if anything needs to be done in the base. You two have fun." He said, turning off the light and walking out of the room. John was following behind him.


	27. Case 5: Water prints part 6

"So what exactly did you two see in those dreams?" Naru asked as he sat stiffly in the wooden chair opposite Masako and Monk. Mai sat a little to his right, Ayako sat next to Monk and Lin was siting at his computer ready to take notes.

"It's like I said last night. I was in the bus and I couldn't breath. There was people banging at the windows and at the doors and from a moment it looks like everyone is going to die. However the bus doors just suddenly open and everyone is rushing to the surface."

Masako nodded her head in agreement. Her dream was exactly the same as Takigawa's. She shivered mentally, it had actually felt like she was drowning. She felt the panic as water rushed in from every gap in the bus. It was like the more she struggled the more disorientated she got; Up down, left right, nothing made any sense anymore. She had felt the burning ache in her lungs as her body craved oxygen and even though she knew she wouldn't get any she would take a breath. Then it was the icy cold lake water that filled her lungs.

In truth, the experience terrified her and she could tell that Takigawa was shaken up about it too.

"They should remember!" Mai exclaimed making Masako jump out from the depths of her haunted thoughts.

"What?"

"That's what the ghost wants- he wants them to remember him." Mai said with a small frown on her face.

"I don't understand." Monk said.

"Before we went on this case I had a dream, similar to yours and Masako's..." Naru's eyes widened, he had completely forgot about Mai's dream. "... except I was experiencing it from the ghosts point of view. He managed to get out of his car but, instead of going to the surface, he went to help open the bus doors. He wants them to remember that he had helped save them."

"So, what? We are dealing with a ghost who has a heroic complex and would like recognition for his good deeds." Yasu teased as he walked through the base door with John right behind he.

Mai nodded, "Probably,yes."

"Okay, so how is the best way to exorcise him?"

Everyone in the room turned to Naru except for Lin. However Lin did pay close attention to what his young boss was going to say. "The best way would be to trap the ghost and exorcise it with several different chants, but first we will have to find a way to draw the spirit in. Maybe ask some of the survivors to participate."

Mai shook her head, "That would take too much time. I think there was something the journals about summoning a ghost." She said as she stood up and went to retrieve three thick books from her bag. She knew it would take her too long to look through all of it on her own but she was uneasy about giving it to anyone else- even if they were her team and family.

She glanced over at Naru, who in turn raised his eyebrows in question. Naru could see her reluctance to allow someone to handle the books but was surprised when she

gave his and Lin a book and told them, "I think it would be titled something like 'the calling' or 'the summon'" Then Mai sat down in she original seat and gently began flipping through the book.

Naru felt an over welling sense of happiness. Mai had trusted his enough to give him what was probably one of her most prized possessions and a glance from Lin told him that he was also happy about Mai trust in him.

It wasn't long before Lin called saying he had found it. Mai had put her book back and hovered over his shoulder reading. "That's it." She cheered. Naru walked over and also looked at the book. He frowned and said, "It's written in Latin."

Mai nodded and hummed, "Most of them are and if not Latin, it's ancient Japanese."

"And you understand it?"

"Of course, the books would be useless if I couldn't understand it." Mai said and everyone in SPR was amazed at how far Mai had come. When they had first met the 17 year old girl she couldn't understand a word for English and now she knew not only English but Latin and ancient Japanese.

"It don't know if it works though. I think we might have a better chance if someone did it with me." Mai continued. "So, who knows Latin?"

Ayako, Takigawa, Yasu and Masako shook there head. John raised his hand and Naru announced that he and Lin could as well.

After a quick discussion, everyone had decided that Mai and Naru were the best choices to do the summoning spell. That left everyone else ready to start the exorcisms as soon as the ghost was within sight.

SPR was in an empty room. Mai and Naru stood almost at the center, Monk was in the back right corner, Ayako in the back left. John and Lin were in the front right and left. The idea was to begin their individual exorcises when the ghost is summoned and the four of them to slowly inclose on the spirit as Mai and Naru backed away. Masako was at the door waiting to give a warning when the ghost was coming.

"Everyone ready?" Naru called and everyone nodded and chorused 'yes'.

Then Mai and Naru started: "Aziel, Castiel, Lamisniel, Rabam, Erlei, et Belam

ego vos coniuro

perdeo verum

perdeo vivum

qui vos creavit

eos supermontes et per eum

qui adum et evum formavit

et per eum qui mari pre abit

aridum que fundarit

qui facit endulum quo spiritus

ministrus suos inenuenda

qui fondasti terram super vasiturum..." The wind began to pick up and Masako hid behand her sleeve muttering, "He is coming." The strong wind made Mai's hair whip around her but she continued, with her voice increasing in volume.

"Non enquinabitor inseculum seculi

et vis esicru ventibetum

emictus eos supermontes stabut aquae

non enquinabitor inseculum seculi

et evum formabit

vesti vectum emictus eus supermontes stabat aquae

alpha gramaton

per hoc nomen et per hic perius ionem

pertribio bovis." (Spell from supernatural- I couldn't resist)

The ghost of the drowned Man appeared before Mai and Naru and, as planned, they began to step back. The ghost dripped water that would never hit the floor and it looked as if the skin was peeling off his bones. As Mai thought this bile rose in her throat.

As soon as the ghost was in the middle of the room: Lin whistled for his Shika, John began revising the holy verse just as Monk and Ayako began there chants.

Soon there air was filled with words."In the the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God..." -John

"Naumaku Sanmanda Bazaradan Kan..."- Monk

The ghost quaked in protest as it begin walking toward Mai and Naru. The chants were slowly taking effect but the ghost was not trapped yet- it could still move. As the ghost began to step closer and closer to Mai and Naru, Mai started her own chant.

"Regna terrae, cantata Deo, psallite Cernunnos,

Regna terrae, cantata Dea psallite Aradia.

caeli Deus, Deus terrae..."

Finally, the ghost was beginning to feel the effects. It had stopped in its movement but still glared darkly at Mai. Light began to break through its translucent skin, like a bomb that was slowly about to explode. As the chants neared there end, more white, light rays burst from the ghost as it cried out in pain and anguish. It trembled and clawed at its body, as it tossed its head back into and ear piecing screech.

"Benedictus Deus, Gloria Patri,

Benedictus Dea, Matri gloria!" Mai finished, and with one last scream the ghost exploded sending a ripple through the entire resort. Silence soon capturing the room. It was over, Mai thought with a smile.

However as Mai examined all her team mates for injury her eyes fell on a figure that hid within the shadows. She felt the tingling coldness on the wound that Mai had received from the very same figure. She didn't know how she knew, she just did. That Silent One was the one that had been in her room and hurt her. Yet it seemed different somehow? Not as aloof? Mai could almost see... life radiating from it.

Why was it different? What had made it change?

**Hey, I hoped you liked this case. I tried to make the case seem longer (as requested by a reviewer). What do you think? Better? Or worse? Also I want to know if you think I should continue with this fan-fiction after the Silent Ones are defeated?**


	28. Case 6: The Headless Nun Part 1

It had been four days since the last case and within those four days Mai had hardly ever left Naru's side, However whenever she did It was there. It was the one that had attacked her in Naru's guest bedroom; the one that Mai had seen after exorcising the last ghost and it looked almost human. Its eyes and mouth were still covered in the thin layer of skin but, instead of the skin being ash white, it now held color. Mai could see a hint of pink and cream on the skin. It was almost as if it were becoming more... human?

Mai was no long scared of that Silent One, but there were others. Mai would see them occasionally. They would linger in the shadows and when she would spot one of them they would disappear, like a child would run away after being caught staring. It was strange, they were strange. How could there behavior change so much? First they stalked her and now it is as if they are curious about her?

Mai sighed then looked up to find Naru staring intently at her. "You do know staring is rude." She quipped.

Naru's mouth turned up slightly into a smirk. "You do know your sighing is distracting." He shot back.

Mai felt a flash of annoyance for the man and stood up abruptly, when Naru didn't move his gaze way from her. "Yeah well your staring is distracting."

"Mai stop being childish, i'm not staring, i'm just looking."

"You act like your arrogance is a virtue."

"Everything of me is a virtue. I thought you would know that Mai." He was teasing her but Naru couldn't help it. He liked the way Mai's cheeks flushed with frustration, anger and embarrassment. He also liked that fact that she did fight back and voice her opinion on him. No one but Mai would do that. No one but Mai would scold him for treating a client inappropriately or for acting so austere and cold.

"You egotistical, narcissistic, arrogant..." Mai began calling him every rude name she had in her dictionary.

"Mai, there is no need to be rude. I know you like me- who wouldn't?"

Mai was fuming. She stormed over to Naru leaning over him, so close that she could feel his hot breathe against her skin. I'd like to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up my..." Mai was instantly stopped as hot, warm lips crushed against hers. Then she stiffened, realizing that it was Naru who had kissed her.

As Mai hovered inches from him, the urge to kiss her was almost excruciating. Mai was shouting something at him, but he found himself absentmindedly licking his lips before he smashed them against hers. The kiss proved to do two things 1) quenched his desire 2) effectively shut Mai up.

The kiss was like magic, the way Naru's lips connected with Mai's. It was right, and somehow, among all of the dizziness Mai found herself clinging to him like a life line, something inside her changed, never to be reversed. This new feeling could be dwelled upon later, because, for now, she was content to feel his breath come and go with hers.

When the two finally broke away a content silence drifted through the apartment. Mai was smiling slightly and Naru smirked, "How does it feel to be the famous Oliver Davis's girlfriend?"

Mai rolled her eyes but still smiled. However this time it was a playful smile. "I don't know. Let me see..." She said before she lowered her lips once again.

This time the hands of time stopped as their lips moved together as one. Mai's lips were so soft and urgent on his, trying to express all that she felt for him. His mouth tasted so minty with a touch of tea and she was so happy he was, finally, hers. His lips smiled against Mai's, then she pulled away from the kiss. She gazed into his beautiful indigo eyes and she uttered one word to him "great".

Although the word was simple it held she much meaning to both of them. To Naru, it meant that Mai had finally accepted him. Him, and all his egotistical, narcissistic, arrogant ways. To Mai, it meant that she could finally call him 'hers'. Masako would no longer have any claim against him- no one did.

Mai jumped when Lin cleared his throat, amusement was plain on his face.

"Yes, Lin." Naru said coolly, his mask set firmly in place. As he spoke Mai tried to move away from Naru but he grabbed her by the waist and held her to him. Her back to his chest.

Lin bit the inside of his cheeks in an effort to hold back a smile. Then he went to business. "We have a case."

Naru and Mai frowned, "No files have passed my desk." Mai said and Naru shook his head to show that none had passed his either.

"No, it wouldn't have. We have been requested."

"By who?"

"It would be easier to show you than explain." Lin said, then he handed a file over to Naru and Mai. As Naru pulled out picture after picture, his eyebrows seemed to raise further up into his hairline. She also looked at the pictures and was shock at what they saw. Carved into a wall was 'Trouver Shiybuya recherche pyschic'. (Find Shibuya Psychic Research)

"Wait, so the ghost requested us?" Mai asked in awe. How could the ghost know enough about SPR to request them? Who was it? "What was it doing? There were dozens of questions running thought Mai's head and hundreds running through Naru's, but the main one was: What does it want?

"Yes and not just any ghost. For three hundred years the locals have known about this ghost; they call her 'the headless nun'."

**What do you think? **

**If you have any questions I would be happy to answer them... And please review. :)**


	29. Case 6: The Headless Nun Part 2

SPR couldn't believe it. They were going to France, on a case, which was requested by a ghost. How was that even possible? If they told anyone that a ghost had asked them to come and investigate the place which is haunted, people would think they were crazy. They would be locked up in a cushioned room with a straight jacket, at least. Yet here they were, about to get on a plane, go to six thousand miles for a case. As REQUESTED by a ghost.

Mai was not happy about having to wake up so early in the morning. No. She liked her sleep and, she wouldn't admit it, but she liked to sleep with Naru next to her. She had grumbled throughout the drive to the airport, and when she wasn't she was asleep. However, for some reason Mai did sleep much.

This concerned Naru. Usually Mai would have no problem sleeping the entire car ride but now, whenever she was deep enough into sleep, she would jerk herself out of it.

Once the team had gathered in the airport, they were soon loaded onto the plane. As Mai stood in the plane she let out a squeak of excitement. This prompted the people around Mai to turn around and stare nosily at the team. This would be Mai's first time flying and she was in first class seats. As Naru walked up behind her, he grabbed her hand and twisted his fingers with hers. Naru lead the way through the plane searching for their seats, occasionally he would glance at Mai craving the spark of joy and excitement in her eyes.

Once their seats where found, Naru let Mai into the window seat as he took the aisle seat. Lin sat with Yasu on the chairs beside them on the other side of the aisle, John sat with Masako and Takigawa sat with Ayako somewhere on the plane. Mai and Naru's hands still held tightly together. The plane hadn't even taken off when Naru felt Mai's leg bounce with nervousness.

"Scared of flying, are you?" He smirked and Mai turned to face him frowning.

"What do you expect from a first time flyer like me? I bet you were the same, when you got on a plane for the first time." Mai challenged, only to be cut down by Lin.

"Actually, Naru was quiet and calm through out his entire first flight."

This, of course, only made Naru smirk wider and caused Mai to whisper a barely audible, "Damn."

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are about to take off, so please put your seat belts on..." A gruff, electronic voice spoke. Mai followed every instruction of the captains and once she had finished belting herself in, she immediately grabbed Naru's hand.

Mai heard the engines roar to life as she was gently pushed back into her seat, when the plane accelerated to 140 miles per hour. Naru felt Mai's relaxed hand squeezes his in a vice-like grip and saw her staring anxiously at the front of the plane, which had began to rise up. He watched her and ,at first, he was considering leaving her experience flight on her own but something told him that she needed him.

Mai sat stiff backed against the seat. Her muscles were wound so tightly that she felt her body ache, yet no matter how hard she tried she couldn't relax. Then, she felt warm hands dance up and down her arms, over her shoulders and then down to her hips, where they gentle rubbed cycles on the exposed flesh. Mai didn't know that she had relaxed until she felt her eyelids go heavy.

Naru continued to rub cycles into the side of Mai's hips, even when he felt the slight weight on his shoulder that told him that she had fell asleep.

For a while, Mai hovered in darkness, enjoying the silent peace that came with it. However it wasn't to last.

Soon after she had fell into the blissful darkness, she felt the tug. It was pulling her to the spirit realm. It wrenched and yanked at her until she had now other choice but to go... but when she got there she saw things. Things that made her shy away from the spirits memories. It wasn't that they were bad, horrifying or even gruesome. They were flashes. Confusing, disorienting, complex flashes. They appeared and disappeared just as quickly and Mai could never catch more than a detail or two before the image was gone.

The pain between her eyes continued to grow as she tried to concentrate on the flickering images. She saw to men, than she saw a piece of paper with writing on it, she saw grass, then a wooden box... More and more images came but they were never the same. Eventually the pain of concentrating was too much and Mai jumped awake. As she did she heard someone whisper, "Now you know."

Naru had sat with a book in his right hand and his left hand in Mai's right. It was about half and hour through the flight when he Mai jolt awake, the sudden movement forcing Naru's body to jump slightly. He looked over at the brunette girl and frowned when he saw her massaging he temples.

When Mai woke the pain between her eyes had lessened but it was still there. She groaned, cycling her middle fingers around her temples. Why did she have to be the one that the ghost contacts? Why couldn't it be Masako? She would be thrilled with the attention anyway.

"Mai, are you okay?" Naru's cold voice asked, usually she would frown at how emotionless he sounded, but now she knew way he acted this way. He had spent years building up his mask, his facade and having it down in front of so many people made his feel vulnerable. Mai smiled slightly because around her, Naru had took off his mask. Round her, he let himself be vulnerable.

"Yeah, just a dream." She moaned.

"Was it one of those dreams?" He asked quietly.

Mai nodded, "I think so, but I couldn't really understand it."

"What did you see?"

"I think I saw everything, yet I hardly saw nothing at all." Mai whispered, feeling slightly guilty at the lack of information she had to give.

**Please review :)**


	30. Case 6: The Headless Nun Part 3

Mai didn't know how long she had slept for. She also didn't remember how she got off the plane and into the car. It had probably been hours, hours that she had spent analyzing the images and all she new was that the images she saw were important. However, I was like the harder she tried to understand and grasp the images the less she saw. It frustrated her to no end.

Mai was jolted out of her thoughts as the car stopped in front of a ancient church. Outside were two nuns, dressed in the usual black and white robes. However they both contrasted each other greatly: one was slender and pale with blue eyes and the other was curvy with dark skin and brown eyes.

Everyone quickly got out of the cars and when to the sisters. "Bonjour messieurs et madames. S'il vous plaît nous suivre et nous allons vous emmener à notre mère supérieure." **(Hello sirs and madams. Please follow us and we will take you to our mother superior.)** The pale nun said, with a slight bow before she turned around.

Mai looked to see confusion on most of the teams faces, so she decided to fill them in. "They greeted us and said to follow them." Her voice had that 'Duh' tone. It wasn't smug but more disbelieving. After all Mai had found French quite else to learn- especially after English. There were smile of thank you and looks of admiration (which Mai shrugged off) as the team shuffled after the two nuns.

The church was a brown brick, twelve story, ancient church. Surrounded by a forest in the South, West and East. Two pointed towers rose from the roof and stain glass windows dotted the walls. Inside they were immediately met with rows of pews, that lead to the main alter that faced East. There a large wooden crucifix stood proudly, displaying its honor and courage to all who look upon it.

The nuns lead them down the aisle and into the back room. Standing in the back room was an elderly nun, who was surrounded by young and old nuns alike- She was the Mother Superior. You could tell that by the way she held herself with grace and dignity. Her face had evidence of laughter and severity.

"Dames Bon, vous sont dispensés." **(Okay ladies, you are excused.)** Her voice was gently and smooth yet it held an underlining of authority init.

The woman bowed to their Mother Superior individually before taking there leave. As they walked out, they passed us, curtsying once more.

"Bienvenue, vous devez être Shibuya Psychic Research. Pouvez-vous parler français ou préférez-vous que je parle dans votre langue maternelle?" **( Welcome, you must be Shibuya Psychic Research. Can you speak french or would you rather I spoke in your native tongue.)** The old nun greeted us.

"Je pense que vous devriez nous remplir en japonais, si cela ne vous dérange pas? Comprennent pas tout de mon équipe française." **( I think you should fill us in in Japanese, if you don't mind? Not all of my team understand french.)** Naru replied with a perfect French accent. SPR wasn't really shocked to hear him speak then.

"Okay. Come, I will show you were you can stay." The nun said, indicating for everyone to follow. Her words drowned in her thick accent and if they were not concentrating they wouldn't be able to make out the barely distinguishable Japanese words. "My name is Annette Tasse. I am the Mother Superior of this convent. I would like to thank you for coming on such short notice."

"That is quite alright. My name is Oliver Davis, lead investigator. This is Lin Kōujo and Mai Taniyama, my assistances. Hōshō Takigawa, a buddist monk. Ayako Matsuzaki, who is a priestess. John Brown, a Catholic priest and Osamu Yasuhara. And this is Masako Hara, a spirit medium." Naru introduced us.

"Here we are." Annette announced, spreading out her arm and gestured into a small room. The first thing Mai noticed about the room was that there was no electricity or plug sockets. Instead there was a dozen lamps and a generator. "The girls are welcome to stay in the door rooms with my sisters, whereas the men will have to stay in the room next door.

Mai swallowed past the lump that had rapidly formed in her throat. Of course she wouldn't be able to stay with Naru during the nights- she was in a church. Mai's panicked gaze snapped to Naru's usual calm, cool gaze. What was she going to do?

Mai sighed, letting her gaze fall from Naru. She knew what she had to do. She would suck it up and deal with it. It wasn't as if the Silent Ones were attacking her anymore. They were just curious.

Naru felt Mai's eyes on him when the Mother said that the girls would be sleeping with the other nuns. However there was nothing he could do. This was there rules and they sanctuary, so he must respect and follow them. No matter how much he didn't want to.

Naru nodded his head, "I understand. Lin, Mai, Yasu start bringing in the equipment." As three of his employees walked away to go and get the equipment, Naru turned to the nun. "Mother, I would like to ask you about any paranormal phenomena that went on during the time that that message was carved into the wall."

"Yes, I can do that." The Mother Superior agreed. "Apart from the appearances, there have been lots of temperatures drops within the church and some of my sisters have come to me saying that they have heard voices."

"Okay, I am going to need to know the names of the sisters that reported the voices."

"That would be Sister Shaw, Gardner, Moore and Crawford."

Naru nodded again, writing down their names for later reference. After talking for a bit longer naru found out that 'the Headless Nun' has made occasional appearances within the last decade. This, of course, peaked Naru's interest greatly as ghosts don't make it a habit of showing themselves to the living. When the Mother had left it wasn't long until Mai came in with the first peaces of equipment. She was shortly followed by Lin and Yasu. The others began to steadily set up.

After they had finished setting up, they found out that the generator needed to be cranked every three hours or so. This would cause some delay in the investigation but at least they had electricity to work the camera feeds. Later Ayako went around measuring the room temperatures, much to her dismay.

Ayako was coming to a finish when she heard a horrible scratching sound from behind her. As she held the thermometer, she watched in fear as it went from sixty degrees to minus ten in a matter of moments. She slowly turned around and froze. Slowly, like something was digging a knife into the wood, words were beginning to form.

"The lock is finally here. Now, find the key."

Lock? Key? Ayako didn't know what they were. She didn't understand what they meant. They lock and the key... What on Earth did this spirit want? Why had it called them?


	31. Case 6: The Headless Nun Part 4

After the incident about the words being craved into the wall, nothing else had happened. Mai remembered Monks panicked, horrified face after Ayako had came running back to the base babbling hysterically about her encounter. This made Mai (and the rest of SPR) curious as to when the two would get together because it is obvious that they eventually will.

Mai was tired, so she reluctantly announced that she was going to bed. Naru, of cause, felt a surge of fear and concern. What if the Silent Ones attacked her again? The image of her burnt wrist flashed unwillingly before his eyes. One touch could do that much damage to her, what would happen if it was more than one touch? This to his imagination sent terrifying, heart-wrenching images through Naru's guarded mind.

Mai laying on the bed with bleeding hand prints littering her body. Mai staring at him with blank, fearful eyes. Mai in pain. Mai dying. Mai dead.

Naru's heart beat increased with something he had never left himself feel so intensely before. Fear. Panic. She had to be with him but the Nun's would never let him. So instead he decided to do the next best thing- stay up all night on hyper-alert. If he heard so much as a peek from Mai, he would go to her.

And he did. Thank God, he did.

As Mai walked into the bunk room, she spotted several women, nuns, fast asleep. There was a time that Mai used to be able to sleep that peacefully without having Naru beside her as she slept. Part of her wished she could sleep like that again. Then there was the other part, that said, if she did she would no longer be able to be with Naru anymore.

Mai silently crept towards an empty bed. Too tired to change into bed clothes, she stripped off her shoes and socks and slowly fell into a restless sleep.

Sometime later, Mai awoke. She trembled uncontrollably under the thin, crispy blanket. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw her breathe smoke out of her mouth. That wasn't a good sign. In fact, in Mai's recent experience it was a terrible sign and as Mai sat up in her bed she was right.

At of the bottom of the bed, it sat there. Looking curiously, interestingly. As Mai stared back at it, it tilted its head in question, like an inquiring dog. It was a strange gesture. Strange in a way that it emitted a sense on innocent, purity about the creature. In her journals none of her ancestors mentioned this type of behavior, but then again they never mentioned about their touch being burning cold either.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Mai also tilted her head in that sweet innocent, gesture. "What do you want?" He voice was quiet yet strong.

The silent creature, clad in black, just continued to stared at her causing Mai to shiver harder.

"Why are you behaving this way?" She tried again and this time she got a response.

The Silent One raised its arm painfully, slowly and pointed to her wrist which was healed but still an angry red. Mai eyebrows drew down as she frowned, not understanding the motion. "You touching me made you change?" She asked confusion evident in her voice.

The creature nodded slowly, like you were watching someone on TV nod in slow motion. "How?" Mai inquired.

The Silent One just shrugged nonchalantly. Their movements were so calm and restful. It was as if they didn't want to waste energy by doing quick, exaggerated movements. Instead they were calm and controlled.

"I don't understa..." Mai said but was cut off as the room temperature started to drop even more. As the room turned from chilly to frosty, some of the woman began to wake but Mai attention was not on them. It was on the several figures that walked out of the shadows. These Silent Ones were the ones that were to be feared because unlike the one in front of her their was nothing human about them except for their shape.

The figures dressed in black stalked towards Mai, as the Silent One in front of her stood, placing itself between her and the on coming creatures. They stopped their predatory walk and as they did Mai counted their numbers. Seven against one, those odds were never good.

As Mai's Silent One stood against the seven, she couldn't help but think that if they were animals both sides would be growling hostility at either other. However they weren't animals and they weren't human. No, they just stood and stared into each others empty eye sockets. Then one of the seven, waved its hand dismissively and Mai's Silent One vanished as if it had never existed in the room. And then pale, soundless skulked toward Mai.

With no barrier between Mai and them, she did the only thing her panicked mind would allow her to. Scream.

Mai's scream ripped through the air, jolting all of the nun's and SPR girls out of their sleep. It was only until Mai heard more shrieks of fear, that she realized that the Silent Ones could be seen by everyone.

Mai forced her panic down and searched her mind for a way to buy time for Naru to get to her. She didn't know why or how but for some reason the Silent Ones never bothered her as long as she was in Naru's presence. It was probably his power. Either that or his cold hearted attitude scared them off, but Mai thought that would be highly unlikely.

Come on, Mai. Think, think. She chanted to she self and then she had it. She was an idiot, how could she forget her training? She was stupid to forget something so important. Idiotic. Moronic. Brainless.

As Mai continued to insult herself mentally, she physically took a deep breath. Pulling oxygen in through her nose and releasing carbon dioxide out through her mouth. As she did this she imagined her bow. How it looked, how it felt in her hand. She willed it into existing and her PK bent to her will. Moments later instead of imagining the weight in her palm, she could actually feel it. Now for the arrow.

As she was about to summon an arrow to shot, Mai's eyes snapped open when she felt an intense coldness on her thigh. She screamed again and bolted away from the paper white hand. With her back against the wall, Mai held out her shimmering, electric blue bow. Pulled about the string and desperately willed the arrow into being.

Mai vaguely heard Ayako chant but the chants didn't seem to work, they creatures just brushed the words away as if they were common insults.

Finally, the arrow was sat on the string and ready to fire and she did. Mai released the arrow sending it into the closest Silent One. She watched as it whistled through the air and, with a dull thud, hit its mark. However seconds later the azure blue arrow, turned to ice and crumbled to then ground. What else could she do? She was cornered. What else could she do?

**Sorry I took so long on this chapter but I wanted it to be good. So... What do you think? Was it worth the wait?**


	32. Case 6: The Headless Nun Part 5

_What else could she do? She was cornered. What else could she do?_

Mai closed her eyes, squeezing her lids so tightly together that it hurt. But it didn't matter. She kept her eyes closed, pushing herself even further into the wall, hoping that it would be quick. Praying that it would be painless. Wishing that it was already over.

"MAI!" A voice shouted. Mai didn't need to open her eyes to know that it was Naru. He was the only one who could envelop her in warmth and safety. The only one.

Mai scoffed silently to herself. Just when Naru had admitted his feelings. Just when everything was perfect for her, this has to happen. Why does she have to die now? Was it written in stone somewhere that she would die here, in this church, in this way.

As soon as Naru had heard the terrified scream from the girls room, there was only one thing running through his mind. Mai. He had to get to Mai. Mai needed him. He had to protect Mai. However when he got into the room, he didn't know who he was going to do all that. How could he get to Mai when she was en-caged by the faceless spirits? How could he protect her when he couldn't even get near her.

"Naru!" Mai small voice whimpered. Naru watched as the first of the spirits place a hand on her shoulder and Mai screaming in agony. And that was it.

Naru gathered all the power within his body. Pulling it from his blood and bones. He needed to use it. He needed to help her, even if it meant killing himself. He had to. Naru's entire body began to tremble with the large amount of power he was gathering. His skin tingled as his PK practically dripped from his pours. As his body glowed with energy, he heard nothing but Mai's panicked breathing. He saw nothing but Mai's whimpering form surrounded by enemies. And that was it.

With all the rage within him, Naru released his PK. At first it felt like he was ripping the skin off his flesh, but, then he became blissfully numb. Just before he fell into the darkness, he saw the energy tsunami smash into the spirits and destroy them. He also saw Mai's horrified gaze as she opened her eyes and then it was gone. Replaced with blankness.

As Mai felt an energy wave surge past her, her eyes flew open and immediately landed on the one person that had that much PK. Naru. His body tumbled forward like a flour bag and crushed to the ground. "Naru." I gasped. All the nun's had evacuated a long time ago and the rest of SPR still stood paralyzed, staring at the empty space that the Silent Ones had left behind.

Mai ran over to Naru, quickly turning him on his back and checking his pulse. Nothing. "No, no, no, no. Naru. Wake up!" She said hysterically as she put her hands on either side on his face. "Wake up NOW." She demanded as if the order would somehow bring him back, but it didn't. Then, when he didn't, she began to tap his cheeks urgently.

Naru wasn't breathing. Naru's heart wasn't beating. There were no ice, cold eyes staring back at her. There was no sarcastic comments. Naru was gone. Suddenly, noise caught Mai's ears. Heavy foot falls quickly coming closer and closer. Mai looked up with blurry eyes to see Lin, Yasu and John running up that beside her.

"Lin, help Naru. Please, help him." She pleaded with the Chinese man.

Lin crouched down beside the nineteen year old boy and search for a pulse. There was none. He stood up, slowly, mournfully and sighed. Shaking his head he said, "There is nothing we can do."

Everyone went silent. Nothing broke the silence except Mai's sorrowful cried as she pressed her face into Yasu's shoulder.

Then Mai's cries sudden;y stopped as she felt the room temperature drop once more. She couldn't keep up with them. Why couldn't the ghosts just leave her alone? Why does she have to be the one to go through all of this? Mai shivered and the air became frosty. She stood clutching Yasu to her thinking that more Silent Ones have come for her. Why did her life have to be this way?

However what appeared in the room wasn't a Silent One. Sure the figure wore a black but it wasn't a trench coat it was a robe, that and the Silent Ones all had heads. This ghost however didn't have one. As the ghost floated towards them Mai caught a glace of the harsh cut that severed the nun's head from her shoulders. She shuddered. Mai saw the thick neck bone surround by flesh and it sickened her.

The ghost completely ignored her and swept over to Naru's deathly still body. Mai was about to cry out in protest when John's hand covered her mouth, instantly silencing her. She watched with wide, fearful eyes as the ghosts pale white hands drifted over his body. From his head to his shoulders, from his chest to his waist, from his thighs to his feet. For a second nothing happened. Then Naru's body glowed and a gasped was released from his mouth.

That wasn't possible. No one could bring the dead back, but then again this wasn't a person. A spirit had brought Naru back, why? Why would it do that? Why did it call us hear?

After Naru's breathing evened out, the ghost stepped back as if wanting an overall view of her work. Then her body turned in the direction of where the rest of SPR had congregated. The body looked at her and, if it had a head, its eyes would not doubt stare purposely at them. Mai watched as the ghost raised its hand in a flash. The motion quick, too quick for the naked eye to catch and then the scratching began.

Following the ghosts pointed finger, SPR saw words once again etched into the wall. 'A soul was returned, now you must on something for me. Find the key.' It read and when the teams eyes searched for the ghost she was gone.

Now that the supernatural phenomena had stopped, the temperature began to rise and the frosty air disappeared. The room was silent, but not the eerily silence that come with a supernatural beings presences. The only evidence that such events had taken place was Naru's unconscious yet breathing body, the jagged carvings on the walls and the scorching red hand prints on Mai's body.

The shocked daze of all of the team abruptly ceased when two nun's and the Mother Superior came shuffling onto the scene. She gasped and yelped in horror as her eyes landed on the abuse dealt to Mai's body. "Oh, ma chère enfant Dieu. Ce qui vous est arrivé? Est-ce douloureux? Avez-vous besoin de quelque chose? Quel genre d'abomination pourrait faire une telle chose pour vous?" **(Oh, dear God child. What happened to you? Does it hurt? Do you need anything? What kind of abomination could do such a thing to you?) **Mother Superior said, slipping unconsciously into her native tongue.

"Je vais bien, Mère. Rien qui ne guérit pas avec le temps." **(I am fine, Mother. Nothing that won't heal with time.) **Mai soothed the panicked woman. Then turning back to Japanese she said, "Could you get a bowl of water for Na- Mr Davis?" Mai asked, not wanting to call her employer Naru in front of a Nun. It seemed inappropriate.

"Also, I know it goes against your beliefs, but I am going to have to sleep in the same room as Naru. If I don't this happens." Mai told the elderly woman, indicating to the angry red and purple make on her skin.

"Yes." Mother Superior muttered. "Yes, I understand."


	33. Case 6: The Headless Nun Part 6

Death. What a brief word for the extinguishing of life. To be no more. To have days cut off and at their end. To never again...anything. Yet, here Naru lay with his second chance. A chance that no one thought was possible.

Naru in his semi-conscious state contemplated his death. There wasn't images of his life passing before his eyes. There was no bright light at the end of the darkness. There was no happiness, sadness, contentedness. There was nothing.

As Naru slowly pulled himself completely out of unconsciousness, he heard the tell-tale sign of people talking around him. As he squeezed his eyes tightly shut, preparing himself for the onslaught on light, he focused on the voices.

"It's been almost a day and he still hasn't woken up, Lin. What if he never wakes up." Mai's panicked voice was the first to break through Naru's foggy mind. She sounded so scared, so desperate for answers, that it made his heart ache.

"Mai, calm down. He is fine. You just need to give him time to pull himself out of his mind and back to reality." Lin answered, in a shockingly soothing voice.

Then Naru heard foot steps coming towards him. He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt warm breath against his ear. "Naru, if you don't wake up soon. I swear I will kill you in your sleep, then get the ghost to revive you just so I can kill you again when you are conscious." Mai threatened but the quiver in her voice told Naru that there was no truth behind her words. She was just trying to draw him out, bait him. So he keep it.

"Oh, yeah and how do you plan do killing me?" Naru whispered as he smirked.

Mai smiled excited at the fact that Naru had woken, then said playfully. "The first time will be quick, maybe a knife or bullet to the heart. The second time however...I was planning on, something on the lines of, skinning you alive with a cheese grater and drawing pictures on whats left of you with a sharpie."

Naru smiled with a genuine smile and pulled his eyes open. The lamp light assaulted his eyes making them sting slightly, but he ignored it. He had his eyes trained completely on Mai, who was grinning ear to ear. Naru shook his head, "Idiot." Before he raised his hand to the back for her neck and pulled her lips to his. Her lips were warm and slightly salty from what Naru guessed were tears.

"Are you kidding me?" Mai breathed when she pulled away from Naru's lips. "You took forever to wake up. I can't believe that out of ten thousand sperm, you were the quickest." Mai jested and then pressed her lips once again to Naru's.

The two continued to insult each other and with every insult their kissing would become slightly more intense and passionate. Lin watching this, began to get uncomfortable,coughing to make his presence known. Naru saw Mai flush was embarrassment and was about to tease her about it, but changed his mind when he caught a glimpse of bandaging on her right upper arm. He took in a quick survey of Mai's damages noticing that there was another bandage on her thigh and left hand.

Naru was about to open his mouth to ask Mai if she was alright, but Lin's voice stopped him. "After you di- fell unconscious, another spirit came into the room..."

"The headless nun." Yasu chirped as he walked in.

"Anyway..." Lin drawled, "She wrote something on the wall."

Mai looked pensive, before saying. "A soul has been returned, now you must do something for me. Find the key."

Naru scrunched his eyebrows up in confusion. Again with the Key. What was the Key? And why did this ghost want us to find it? This case was definitely one that was worth researching. This ghost behavior is unlike any Naru had ever seen before. Sure there were ghosts that sometimes wanted to help them, but the methods in which this ghost was using are... odd. Completely out of character. This ghost didn't try to harm anyone to get attention. It didn't cause the slightest disturbance in its wake, except for the messages. Which were annoyingly cryptic.

After Naru's almost death, there was no other paranormal occurrences. In fact the day went by boringly dull as the team read information about the church and watched the cameras, which was about as boring as watching paint dry and grass grow. As Naru flipped through his notice that he had taken on the day of there arrival, he read the four names he had jotted down, 'Sister Shaw, Gardner, Moore and Crawford'. The four nuns had had seen the apparition of the headless nun, Naru hadn't even thought of questioning them since Mother Superior had told him of them.

"Mai." He called and turned to see Mai look up at him with curious eyes. "Come with me." Mai just nodded slightly and dropped the file she was reading.

As the two walked down the corridor, Mai broke the silence that had developed between them. It wasn't a tense silence, Mai knew that Naru wasn't much of a talker. "So where are we going?" She asked.

"There are some nuns that have seen the spirit. I want to ask them about it." Naru answered in his business-like voice.

Mai nodded, "Okay."

Mai and Naru found Sister Moore first. When they asked her what she had seen she had given them a vague description and told the two investigators that she only glimpsed the ghost. Needless to say, that information wasn't every useful. However Naru still jotted it down, along with when and where the nun had seen the ghost.

The next Sister they found was Sister Shaw, she appeared to be in her mid-forties with hazel eyes. She described the ghost perfectly and even some details that Mai herself hadn't seen on the ghost, like the dirt on the ghosts robe. However, the only reason the Sister saw it was because she thought it was a disgrace to dirty their holy robes. In the outside world, that point of view would have been snobby and rude.

Sister Crawford was slightly harder to find, however to Mai and Naru's luck, Sister Gardner was with her. As it turned out the two nuns were the ones that witnessed the writing of the message that had called us here, but all they said was that the nun was like a headless shadow. So they gave us no new information.

By the time the interviews were done, it had become late and Mai was dead on her feet. So, saying a good night to the rest of the team, the couple made there way to bed. When Naru gave Mai a questioning look, she shrugged her shoulders, jumped into bed and told Naru casually. "Mother Superior agreed that I could stay with you. After all we don't want anymore incidents like the other day." Naru had to agree.

That night, Mai once again saw the images flash before her mind but now they were clearer. This time she saw the woods and a tree with three symbols on it; an eye, an arrow and a key. Then the image became blurry and Mai now saw a meadow. Mai watched as someone buried a small wooded box. The box had a silver lock and a silver cross on its lid. Once again the image went foggy and the Mai looked at two men. As if she was watching a TV with broken sound, their voices crackled.

"Où est ... Cachez toujours ... Nous devons ... The Faceless ... Dites ... sorcière ..." (Where is... Hide forever... We need... The Faceless... Tell... Witch...) The two men said incoherently. Mai shook her head and walked closer to the men, trying to understand what they are saying. Nothing. As Mai got closer, the image got further away until it disappeared.

Naru was the first to wake up this time. Mai eyelids were closed against the morning light, and her breathing deep and relaxed. This was probably the first time in a while that Mai had slept so peacefully. All the muscles in her body were totally at peace, like a baby in its first throes of slumber. The only movement was the slow rise and fall of her chest and the wild flickering as her eyes followed her dreams.

Naru reached out his hand and brushed a stray hair out of her face. He wouldn't mind awaking up to this everyday for the rest of his life.

Finally, Mai's eyelids fluttered open to reveal her beautiful, dark brown eyes. She smiled sleepily at him, as she stretched her arms out in front of her. Her head was turned slightly away from Naru as she yawned. "Morning."

"Morning." Naru smiled, copying her greeting.

"Do you always watch people when they sleep? Or am I just special?" Mai asked him with one eyebrow slightly raised.

"No, I was just relishing in the fact that you weren't angry and shouting for once." Naru smirked.

Mai just rolled her eyes and got out of the bed. "Right... Anyway, I want to go into the forest today."

"Why?"

"Because I had a dream and I think it has something to do with the Key and where we can find it." Was Mai's response, as she went to the bathroom to get ready.

Naru frowned as he watched her go. Sure she looked like she was dreaming, but she didn't seem restless. Maybe not every dream a ghost gives her is a nightmare.


	34. Case 6: The Headless Nun Part 7

Stepping over tree roots and fallen branches, the team made their way into the forest just outside of the church. If you had ever been in a forest, it was a place enchanted by the melodious songs of the birds, it was a place where greens molded with browns. As they trudged along the soft, damp moss of the forest path. The tree's soft whisper against the wind was like a lullaby, soothing and warm. It was so welcoming and calm. The feeling of security was all around when, abruptly, everything changed.

Their light smooth steps, turned to rough ridged stomps on the tough, rock path filled with twigs. They could no longer hear the tree's swaying movements with the breeze, they were replaced with the snapping sound of twigs being crushed beneath their feet. As they walked further and further into the forest the shadows seemed to get larger and darker. The forest began to play tricks on them, for a second Ayako could have sworn there was someone following her, like their crunching foot steps were not alone.

In truth, Mai had no idea where she was going, she was just following. The minute she had entered the forest she had felt the same sensation as when she had been lead on the file on their previous case. The feeling of having a string tied around her wrist as tugging her into some unknown direction. She might as well had been blind folded. She didn't know where she was going, how she got there and how to get back. All she could do was follow the tugging and hope that whatever was leading her would lead her back to the church.

"Naru, I need to take a break." Masako panted, pulling on Naru's sleeve like a child trying to get attention from its parent.

"No, we are almost there." Mai said in an authoritative tone that could have out matched Naru's. Mai didn't know where that came from, but she believed it. She was close. They were close. It was as if the sting that was enticing her forward vibrated faster with every step she took in the right direction.

"We'll keep going a little more." Naru told the team, who sighed and groaned at the prolonged thought of finally sitting down.

Mai also sighed and glanced around. Trees. Trees. And more trees. As they continued to walk, Mai continued to search each and every tree for a sigh that they were going in the right direction. That this feeling, whatever it was, was leading them to the correct place. Then she saw it. There, carved into the trunk of a large oak tree, was the symbols she had been seeking. The eye. The arrow. The key.

"Here!" She exclaimed and made her way towards the trunk. "Now were just had to follow the arrow and, hopefully find the key."

"What does the eye stand for?" Masako asked or more like whined.

"I'm surprised you don't know, Masako." Mai told her. "It is a simple pictograph. The eye means 'look', the arrow means 'in that direction' and, i'm assuming, the key means 'for the key'. It's not nearly as tough as the Egypt and Mesopotamia pictographs."

"And how am I suppose to know that?" Masako retorted.

Mai decided to ignore her, and so did the others. "Let's rest here and then follow the arrow." Naru said as he met Mai's eyes. She nodded her head before dropping it in exhaustion. They had been walking for 2 two maybe three hours and, just as those exercise DVDs said, she was truely feeling 'the burn'. It would probably take more than a thirty minute break to bring her legs back from the jelly they had suddenly turned into when she stopped walking, but she could cope. What ever that ghost wanted them to find, she would find it and then it will be over.

As Mai looked around her, she saw Ayako sweating a stream as she panted beside the forever smiling Monk. John was lent up against a tree sipping his bottled water. Masako still clutched onto Naru's sleeve panting and sweating and complaining. However, Mai didn't pity her, it was her idea to go trekking through the forest in a kimono. Lin and Naru were the ones that came out of this hike for the better. If she didn't know any better, Mai would think that the two men didn't had any sweat glands and they weren't even breathing deeply.

Mai's gaze narrowed on Naru and as if he felt it, he turned to look at her. A smirk plastering his face. "What?" He asked.

"Your inhuman. How can you be not the least bit tired?" Mai growled out.

"Not all of us are fragile and get tired on a small walk like this."

"I'd like to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up my..." Mai trailed off not wanting to provoke the narcissist in front of her, however she was too late.

"No, suppose you can't. But then again not many people can be as smart, charming and good looking than me." Naru's smirk turned into a grin and he began walking towards Mai, leaving a pouting Masako behind.

"You forgot narcissistic, arrogant and cold."

"Oh really." Naru taunted, still stalking towards Mai.

Mai shuffled back until her back hit a tree behind her. Her will to fight was slowly sizzling away to nothing as she watched Naru's lean, fairly toned body stride toward her. In seconds they were face to face, breathing deeply into each others mouths.

When Naru's lips were inches away from Mai's, he whispered, "You didn't answer me."

"Yes, really." Mai said, ignoring the hitch in her voice. The moment her answer came out, Naru's lips were on hers in a slow yet passionate kiss. They didn't even notice the team staring at the with humor.

When the couple finally separated their lips from each others, Mai said. "But that is just who you are."

"Okaaay, lovebirds. No more kissing in front of the parents, please." Monk all but shouted as he jokingly covered his eyes in horror.

"Ten minutes and then were are moving out again." Naru responded.

It wasn't for another forty minutes that they found what they were looking for. The tugging at Mai's wrist stopped as abruptly as it started when the group enter into a meadow. The grass was a knee high, emerald green with yellow and white flowers that bloomed just as high. Now they were on their own. Somewhere buried in this field was a wooden box with a silver cross.

Mai closed her eyes and tried to flash back to the image of the nun burying the box, trying to find some sort of marker to indicate where it was buried. The more she search her mind of the answer the deeper the metaphorical dagger dug into her head. It hurt and, if Mai opened her eyes, she was such she would see black splotches in her vision.

Naru watched as Mai squeezed her eyes shut, blocking out the world around her. He saw her eyebrow wrinkle as she concentrated, then she began to sway. Quickly, Naru grabbed her, holding her steady as she continued to do whatever it was that she was doing. Then suddenly, her eyes flew open with a gasp.

"Th... There is a large rock, wrapped in black cloth. We need to find it." Mai moaned out as she rubbed her temples.

After a moment everyone fanned out to look. With the seven of them (Yasu was left to keep an eye out back at the church) the stone was quickly found and the box was just as quickly dug up. It was just as Mai had seen except the wood was dirtier and rotten in places and the silver was rusted with time.

Mai opened the box and pulled out the treasures that were kept within. They called them treasures because not matter house useless the contents seemed to others, they must have been very important to the person to bury. That person must have considered it valuable in some way. So, therefore whatever it was, it was treasure to someone.

The contents turned out to be a small A6 notebook. The pages were crispy and yellow with age. As Mai opened the book onto a random page, she loudly pulled in a breath, shocked at what she read.

"... these creatures are not what they appear to be. When I was a little girl, of course, I feared them. Who wouldn't be terrified of a monster without eyes nor mouth, a monster without a face. I have spent years searching for answers: what they are?, where did they come from?, what did they want?. And today I have found one of the answers to my questions.

They are waiting for someone. Someone to release the lock on their identity. When they find her all it will take is one touch, one touch and a projection of their will onto the creatures. Then they will be free."

"What is it Mai?" Monk asked.

"A book or a journal." Mai answered, still shocked at the information she held in her hands.

"What did it say?"

"I think it is about the Silent Ones. I think this journal tells us how to stop them."

There was much more to the book. Much more entries that Mai was dying to read, but not here. This book was probably the one book that held all of her answers that generations before her could not. Finally, she thought, I have my answers.

Mai turned around to leave, but stopped when she saw a figure in front of her. Mai remembered the figure of the nun from when it had revived Naru. However this time when she looked at it there was one very noticeable difference: she had a head.

"Is that all you wanted us to do? Find this?" Mai said to the spirit as she fingered the old, leather notebook.

The nun nodded. "Utilisez enfant bien. Il est à vous maintenant." **(Use it well child. It is yours now.)** A unearthly, melodious voice said.

Mai took a chance and flipped open the leather cover. There one the first page was the name of the ghost that had called the team to France. The ghost that had written them messages on the walls and the ghost that had lead them here, towards the information that maybe Mai's salvation.

"Thank you, Sister Marie Inconnue." The ghost nodded once more and vanished as if it was finally sent free from the burden of protecting the information.


	35. Case 7: Painting Life Part 1

**We are coming to an end of the Silent Ones mystery. I have decided to continue on an write more chapters after this- so you will get a little more of the NaruXMai relationship- however I will be starting college soon so the updates might not be as fast. But I promise I won't forget about this story or my fans and followers.**

**Hope you like the chapter :)**

Mai had spent the entire trip back reading the journal. It was filled to the brim with everything to do with the Silent Ones. Fact after fact came pouring out of the journal, things that Mai's ancestors hadn't noticed about the creatures, yet now that Mai looked back on it, where easy to notice. It explained why they behaved they way they did, at least partly anyway.

Mai was engrossed with the book, never looking up from its pages even when someone called her name. It was her bible, her only chance of survival.

'When they find her all it will take is one touch, one touch and a projection of their will onto the creatures. Then they will be free.' This was the sentence that stayed in Mai's head. It explained why that lone Silent Ones acted like it did. That first time it had touched her back in Naru's guest room, she must have applied a but of her 'will' and released it from its chains... or at least one of them.

But was it really that simple? If it was so simple then how did those before her not discover it? How could others not unearth such a thing? Yet this nun had.

However when she is up against them, she cannot simply apply her will to one creature after another. It would be like trying to kill a crowd of people with only one shot gun at hand. It was crazy; she would eventually run out of bullets, or in her case energy. There had to be a faster way to stop them than that. Like maybe other people could apply their will? Then all of SPR could help, however if it was that simple then Sister Marie Inconnue would have been able to do it. Besides didn't she write the the Silent Ones were looking for someone not a group of people. How was one person suppose to stop all of them?

When Mai finally looked up and closed the book, everyone's attention turned to her. "So, Mai, what did it say?" Ayako asked curiously.

Mai shrugged, "A few helpful hints on how to defeat the Silent Ones. There are some suggestions about what their motives are and about what dangers they provide to a person."

"What do you mean the dangerous they provide to a person?" Masako insisted.

"Like their touch will only burn you if you reject it. Or, if a person isn't strong enough, they can drive a person crazy. Things like that..." Mai answered folding her arms over her chest. "It tells me how to 'save' a Silent One but not how to stop its masses." There were probably other mysteries to the journal that have yet to be found or understood. The nun had expertly gathered the information yet some of it was hard to understand.

"So I guess we are back to the drawing board." Yasu sighed.

"No, not quite." Mai said then got out of the car. "Well, I am tired. I'm going to bed." She announced before turning her back on the team. Naru and Lin were already waiting for her at the front door of their apartment complex. The door, or rather doors since it was a double door opening, was rimmed with gold plated metal. The rest of it was glass. In truth, Mai thought it looked more like the door to a hotel than an apartment.

A while later, Mai lay in bed with Naru perched against the head board reading. "Hey, Naru." Mai said, getting Naru's attention.

Naru glanced up from his book but said nothing. He merely raised his eyebrow in a silent question. "Can you feel it?"

Naru's face went blank and he tried to figure out Mai's meaning. Then he looked into Mai's eyes and asked, "Feel, what?"

Mai shrugged against the mattress. "I don't know, it just feels strange. I can feel the finality, like something is going to end soon. It is an uneasy and unsure feeling, like destiny is wavering on the path the ending will take."

"I'm sure it will be fine." Naru said but upon hearing her say such words, uneasiness began to creep into his being as well.

"I wonder... What path destiny will go with?" Mai whispered before falling asleep, leaving Naru to worry on his own.

There's always another storm. It's the way the world works. Snowstorms, rainstorms, windstorms, sandstorms, and firestorms. Some are fierce and others are small. You have to deal with each one separately, but you need to keep an eye on whats brewing for tomorrow.

Mai sat in the windowsill of Naru's apartment and wondered, what kind of storm was heading her way? Was it going to be big? What will happen when it passes? She knew one was coming. She could feel it all around her. It was like the calm before the storm. The atmosphere around her became one of quiet, foreboding. She didn't know why she felt this way, she just did.

Naru made sure that he kept an eye on Mai at all times. Since she woke up she had been acting differently. She no longer shouted or insulted Naru when he ordered her around, instead she just complied neutrally. This, of course, made Naru very uneasy. Mai wasn't Mai unless she was angry, laughing or shouting at him. She was too calm, too serious. Mai didn't suit a serous face, Naru thought.

The whole team had noticed this change in Mai. Yasu constantly tried to tease Mai, but instead of her usual blushing and shouting he just got brushed off. Monk also tired but received the same reaction. Ayako, John and even Lin and Masako tried. However Mai stayed buried in her mind.

That night Mai dreamed.

She was in a room with walls made of metal. There was only on why in and one way out, through the circular hatchway at the far end on the room. Around her many painting were staked or hung. This dream was unlike most of her other dreams because this time she could move of her own freewill. This time she wasn't trapped within a body or a memory.

Mai walked over to the paintings and picked one up. She found herself looking at the face of a elderly woman, she looked about average in build and had short, grey hair. From what she could see, the lady was dressed in a silk dress. She was smiling conservatively. As she stared at the picture, the elderly woman's face suddenly morphed into one of a silent scream, causing Mai to drop the painting. However when she looked back at it the face was no longer twisted with anger and pain.

Picking up another painting, Mai looked upon the face of a youthful young man. He had brown eyes and blond hair that was swept to on side. All of the pictures where of people.

Putting the painting down, Mai began to walk towards the hatch, but stopped when she suddenly felt the temperature drop. She turned around in a circle to find Silent Ones. They were everywhere: coming out of the walls, the floor and the ceiling. She was trapped. The faceless creatures began to walk toward her like a lion stalking toward its prey. Closer and closer they came, until... Mai, jumped awake.

Glancing around her wildly, Mai saw nothing but the darkness of night and Naru sleeping peacefully beside her. It was rare to see him sleep and even rarer to see his face so relaxed. This was probably the one time that he let all of his guards down.

"Do you like watching me sleep?" Naru asked calmly with his eyes still closed.

Scratch that last thing, Mai thought to herself. Naru was still as guard as ever. "Shut up!" She whisper/hissed.

"Then go back to sleep." Naru said back.

"I am." Mai shot back, grabbed the duvet cover and turned with her back toward Naru. She wrapped the cover around herself and buried deeper within its warm. What was that dream? It couldn't have been someone else's memory, could it? Maybe it it was another ghost like Sister Marie Inconnue. Or could it be... No, don't be stupid. Mai told herself. It is absolutely impossible... She had never see it before, so way would she now? Seriously, there is no such thing as being able to see the future.

Or was there?

Naru stayed awake for a while after he and Mai had had their little conversation. He heard her muttering things like, "Stupid...Seriously... No such thing..." However for some reason Naru couldn't find the will to ask her about it. So, instead he waited for her to fall asleep and then reached out for her. Wrapping his arm around her tiny waist and pulling her into his chest.

"Seriously." He muttered. "Why do you carry the weight of such heavy burdens by yourself." He looked down at her with soft, kind eye and, if possible, pulled her even closer before burying his head into Mai's shoulder and falling asleep.


	36. REQUEST

**Hi guys, sorry this isn't another chapter but please read this...**

I have a favour to ask. You see, I have been looking for an anime that I watched a long time ago. I also remember that it was a manga.

In this anime/manga the main character is a young girl who was abandoned in the forest and found and adopted by her 'father'. Then her adoptive father sent her way to experience the world. The thing I remember most about the anime is that when the main character was abandoned her real father lead her into the forest and drew and circle around her in the mud, telling the girl not to move from that spot.

The female poltergeist is very strong and keeps many secrets about her past from her two companies that she gains on the journey.

If you know thing anime/manga could you please comment or PM me. It is driving me crazy not knowing.


	37. Case 7: Painting Life Part 2

**Hi, guys. Thank you so much of the help in finding the anime/manga. Some people have asked if, when I find out, I could tell them. The one I was looking for was called Hatenkou yuugi aka. Dazzle. Although I have to say the manga is definitely better than the anime. **

**Thank you once again and I hope you enjoy the chapter. Oh... and please comment.**

* * *

"Mai. Mai. You need to get up we have a case." Naru told Mai, shaking her shoulder in an attempt to wake her up.

"Five more minutes..." Mai muttered borrowing deeper into the covers.

Naru sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mai, get up. Now." Naru practically shouted, ripping the covers away from her.

Mai jumped awake as the cold air hit her, "Naru!" She shouted.

From downstairs, the rest of SPR were waiting patiently as they heard the scuffle between the couple. They found the emotion in their young bosses voice odd to hear. The fact that Mai was screaming at him for 'daring to yank a cover off of a sleeping woman', Mai's words not theirs, and Naru was openly teasing her relentlessly.

Lin, of course, had gotten use to Naru's sudden emotional standing when it came to Mai. He would tease her, worry about her and even turn gentle toward her. At first these things had surprise Lin but now it had become quite common to see his employer with such expressions when around the Japanese girl. Lin made a quick reminder to himself to call in on Naru's mother and father and well as M, he hadn't contacted them since they had found Mai six months ago.

Six months ago... SPR's reunion seemed much longer than that but it truly had. Six months ago Mai was shooting arrows at a target and working at a restaurant. Six months ago Monk had just finished his music tour and Ayako was working in the hospital along side her father. Six months ago Yasu was at university, Masako was at an interview on TV and John was at an orphanage spending time with the children. Yet, it all felt like it had happened years ago.

"Is everyone ready?" Naru called indifferently as he walked down the stair followed by a very grumpy looking Mai, who was mumbling something along the lines of 'rude, narcissistic, arrogant, idiot scientist'.

"Yes." The team called back.

As the team drop through Sorachi Subprefecture, Mai gazed out of the Vans window lost in thought. It wasn't long before she stopped the tall metal structures and flashing lights, it was a carnival.

Her eyes were immediately mesmerized by the different colored lights that glowed, flashed and beamed like a rainbow captured and bottled into thousands of little bulbs. As they got closer everyone in the van (Lin, Naru and Mai) could hear the excited screams of children, food vendors shouting and music from the booths of the games of chance. They were so close now that Mai could see the power cables lying hazardously in the grass. A roller coaster caught her attention most. It towered over the carnival and surrounded it as the sky surrounds the Earth.

Mai continued to gaze longingly at it, wishing she could be there. She wanted to feel the sweet candyfloss melt in her mouth, shake with the adrenalin rush of after coming off of a ride, taste the mild vanilla flavor of coke. But she couldn't: They were here on a case. However just as Mai told herself that, she saw an extremely familiar face walking up to the shooting booth with an equally familiar woman.

"Stop the car." Mai demanded.

He sudden words shocked Lin into doing as she had ordered and before he or Naru could stop her Mai was flying out of the car.

"MAI!" Naru shouted reaching out for the brunette, only to miss her by inches. Then, without hesitating, Naru followed Mai out onto the carnival grounds. "Mai." The brown haired, brown eyed girl was a short distance away from him now but she didn't turn toward him as he called. What was she doing? Why was she so determined on her destination?

Mai continued to walk quickly through the crowds, ignoring Naru's angry and frantic calls. All she could think was, why were they here? Not that she wasn't happy to see her old friends but for them to be this far from their place of business... Out here in Sorachi Subprefecture.

"Let me take it from here Naomi." A gruff masculine voice said.

"Oh really..." Naomi scoffed.

"Of course, I have to prove my manliness to my woman." The man said almost completely seriously.

"Yeah." Mai interrupted the two jokingly. "Nothing says manly like a three foot pink teddy bear."

The couple turned toward the familiar voice, there faces showing every ounce of surprise they felt. "MAI!" They screamed together before tackling the Japanese girl.

Mai laughed, "Good to see you too Shiro, Naomi."

"Oh my God, Mai. Where have you been? It has been ages since you contacted us. What have you been doing? Has you boss been giving you any trouble? I could ask Kaito to..." Naomi said. Her words tackling her just as surely as the couple had done moments ago.

Mai wriggled out of her friends arms and laughed, "Calm down, Naomi. I am fine. Look at me... Completely fine."

"Mai."

Mai turned to Naru calling her name. He was easily maneuvering around the crowd and to Mai it seemed as if he gracefully danced around the people. Her eyes subconsciously narrowed of any of the woman who dared to take a second, hungry look at him. In fact, one of the females he had glided around began to stalk toward him like a lion stalked toward its prey.

When Mai turned toward Naru he saw her eyes narrow and the flash with fire at something behind him. He was about to look back when Mai reached out her hand, grabbed his, and pulled him towards her. Her arms wrapped around Naru's waist and when he looked down at her in surprise, he saw her glaring murderously around his arm. A light bulb flashed in his head and he smirked, she was jealous that someone behind him was looking at him. Naru didn't know why but at this realization something in his jut fluttered, but he brushed if off. Mai always caused his body to do weird, unreasonable things... and it wasn't just the hormones.

Even as Mai openly claimed her territory of the man, the woman still advanced toward him. The woman had long, blond hair that just about reached her hips and her eyes were bright blue; obviously she was a foreigner, maybe English. She wore, what Mai thought were, cheap, trashy, large hoop ear rings and a belly bar, which could be clearly seen as she was wearing a blood red tank top that clung disgustingly to her skin. To make matters worse, she wore black, leather shorts that looked more like underwear and heels to high that Mai was surprised the woman hadn't broken her neck.

"Can we help you with something?" Mai asked stiffly, a vein blistering on her forehead. The woman had wiped all thoughts of meeting her dear friends from her head.

"You can't, but he can." The woman purred, indicating to Naru.

Naru now looked at the woman with cold indifference but that didn't phase her. "Why don't you leave these people and come join me, it'll be fun."

"No thank you." He told her, turning away.

"Why not? I am far better than this one." She whined pitifully.

"Didn't you hear him? He said no and besides he already has Mai." Mai glanced up in shock and Naomi, but she just gave Mai that smile that said 'you can't hide anything from me'.

The woman huffed and then sent a glare towards Mai as if she knew Naomi was naming her. Hey, at least the girl had some brain cells. "What is so good about her? I am far better in looks and experience than she is."

Mai looked at the woman with a small smile. It was a smile Naru had seen plenty of times before. It was the one that told him she was up to something. "I am sure there are plenty of other people you can seduced into a one night stand. However jealously is a disease and just because I can keep a guy doesn't mean you should be jealous. I hope you get well soon."

Mai turned her back on the woman and the group began to walk away. "Hey! The woman shouted behind them. You B****, I a not done talking with you."

People around them started to turn toward them, compelled for some unknown reason to witness what was going to happen.

Mai sighed at the girls tactics. She took in a breath to say something back but, Naru sensing it would bring fourth more attention stopped her by saying. "I am not interested in your lustful version of love and you should be either. If you keep selling your love like that eventually you will have no one."

This stopped the girl and gave the four of them time to get away.

After everything had settled down, Mai, Naru, Naomi and Shiro began to walk back to the van slowly as they talked. To Mai's surprise, it turns out that Kaito's team was also called in for the case that SPR had taken on. If this was the case, Naru wondered if any other teams had been called in and how bad the situation is. Naru's thought went back to their time on the 'Bloodstain labyrinth' case, as Yasu had dubbed it.

Naru hoped that this case wouldn't be as dangerous for both Mai's safety and the teams.

When the Lin, Naru and Mai finally arrived at their destination, the others were already there waiting for them. "Hey, guys. What took you so long?" John asked in his Australian accent.

"We met with another team that had been hired for the same case. It appears as if the police want this one solved quickly." Naru explained.

"Yeah, I don't blame them. I have a bad vibe about this place." Monk said rubbing the back of his neck.

When Naru had first told him that it was the Sorachi Subprefecture's police force that had brought the case to them everyone was shocked. Police don't like to call on people like them, it was bad for both the press and their reputation. So this meant that this case must be something big if the police called them in and now it wasn't just them but other teams. SPR looked at at the house as if sharing similar thought, what on Earth was it about this place?

"Ah!" A voice spoke pulling the team out of their thoughts. "You must be the Shibuya Psychic Research team, come on in. You are the last to arrive."


	38. Case 7: Painting Life Part 3

**Hey guys, sorry for not updating in a while. I was looking for some inspiration. I want to thank all of my readers for waiting and all of my reviewers- I love reading about what you think of my writing. Please keep reviewing and giving me ideas on what could happen next. **

Darkness began to fall much sooner now, Mai realized as she watched the sun disappear behind the horizon. The blue/grey sky glowed a beautiful red before fading to pink, then orange and, finally, black. Wind blew strongly yet silently through the naked tree, which leaves had long since fallen. Mai felt the bitter nip of the winter chill even through the insulated house... or rather mansion. However the shiver the ran down her spine was not from the cold but from her thoughts. There was something wrong with this place. She knew it from the instant she had walked through the doors.

**FLASHBACK**

"Ah! You must be the Shibuya Psychic Research team, come on in. You are the last to arrive." Detective Taishi said and turned to walk away not checking to see if the group with following behind her.

The team quickly filed into the house, Naru leading Mai with his arm around her waist. As Mai took her first step through the glossy wooden door frame she winced. She ears were immediately assaulted with screams of despair and cries of anguish. They begged for someone, for anyone to help them. There were so many. Her mind began to fog over in misery, drowning in the spirits agony. They were suffering, trapped within the pain of their deaths. How they died, when they died, why they died? None of that mattered to them, they just wanted out. They wanted to be free from the cage that someone had trapped them in.

As Naru lead Mai into the house she froze, her body stiffening. "Mai, what are you?" He asked but as he looked down into her eyes he knew she couldn't hear her. He watched as her eyes darkened with pain, horrified as she gasped and cried out. Her hands ripped from her sided only to slam into her ears as if trying to block something out. By now the whole team and Detective Taishi had gathered around Mai in confusion. However Naru didn't notice them until, Masako gave a snort.

"What on Earth is she doing?" The disgust in the medium's voice was evident. "There is nothing in this place except the smell of death."

Naru and the others ignored the jealous woman. They knew that Mai would never fake something like this. She never pulled these kinds of jokes.

Then Mai blinked, her mind slowly pulling itself into awareness. She still heard the moans, cries and screams but she was slowly pushing them back.

"Mai?" Naru questioned.

Mai immediately glanced up shocked to see that Naru's mask had fallen away leaving concern. Masako seeing that Naru's expression had, for once, chanced huffed. Her jealousy rose tenfold as she knew that Mai was the cause for his sudden show of emotion. He had never looked at her with such eyes, even when she was pushed out the window or kidnapped.

Mai gave a nod, unsure if she was even able to speak. Her head throbbed with the invasion of the voices. There must be dozens of them and they were all in pain. How long have they been trapped here? Who trapped them?

Naru excepted her answer for the moment, however later he would find a chance to talk to her. He pulled Mai's reluctant hand away from her ears and held it within his as he indicated for the detective to continued walking.

It wasn't long before they found their way into a large dining room. A bronze chandelier hung hazardously above the center of the large oak, rectangle table. Oak chairs with cushions the color of faded daisy may flowers. Carved into these wooden furniture were elegant wavy lines. Around the room hung many paintings of different people: one blond with blue eyes, another black with green eyes, another brown with honey eyes and many more. Mai shuddered thinking back to her dream, similar to her dream paintings, the eyes seemed to follow her.

SPR's attention turned to the two other groups that had gathered. One group wore what appeared to be proper hunting attire with black Sherpa camo trousers a jackets. Naru had to hold back a snort as he saw on the back of the jacket was a logo 'P.T.E Planetary Telepathic Exorcists' it read. Then his gaze shifted to the other team. It was Kaito's team. Naru felt a flash of annoyance. If Sora went anywhere near Mai the boy would never live to see another day.

"Right, everyone. My name is detective Taishi. Please take a seat and let us begin."

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Mai sighed audibly, still gazing out the window. It was December now and after December was January. Her birthday was soon. She didn't know if she was happy or indifferent when it came to that. On one hand it meant that she had survived another year, however on the other hand it meant that she still had two years left of this life. Two years where was was the potential victim of whatever ghost she came in range of. No, there was nothing to celebrate in this birthday, she would wait until she is twenty-one. In a little over two years she will finally be free in this cursed life of her.

"Mai, Tea!" The voice of her annoying boss interrupted her thoughts. Sighing once more the Japanese girl stood up from her perch by the window and went to comply with her boss's request.

Naru had noticed Mai's strange behavior since she had been in the house, however he just thought it was because of the continuous cries of pain that have been assaulting her mind since being there.

"Yes, Lin?" Naru asked as he sensed his assistant hovering nearby.

"The temperature in the master bedroom is colder than the rest of the rooms in the house and it also keeps rising and falling constantly." Lin informed Naru as he looked into his young boss's eyes trying, to no avail, to read him. He has always been closed off but after Gene's death he became a even more so. He had locked himself away in a box and, as it appears, Mai is the only one with the key.

"Hn." Naru said deep in thought. "It is likely that the master bedroom is the room where the spirits are tethered." The ground zero, Naru thought, but why would they haunt there? Was it were they dead? Is there an object that they are all connected too? Maybe a murder weapon of some sort? Naru couldn't say for such.

As the two men Mai footsteps heading towards them they turned. Mai stood there, her brown eyes slightly duller than usual and her mouth, that usually smiled, was pulled down into a half frown. "Oh, Lin! Do you want some tea? I only made some for Naru but the kettle is still hot, I can..."

"That is quiet alright, Taniyama-san." Lin interrupted Mai from her babbling.

"Oh, okay..." Mai murmured and walked over to Naru who was now seated on the couch with a coffee table perched in front of him. The rich sweet smell teased Naru's senses and he had to stop himself from sighing in content. No one could make tea like Mai could.

That night Lin stayed up in the base as the rest of the team slept soundly in their rooms. However no one knew that in the room just down the hall Mai's spirit was brought the the realm of the dead, where she dreamed of the past.

Mai stood in what seemed to be a large studio. The floor shined and warm light streamed through the many windows that lined that west wall. At the end of the room was a royal blue sofa, a rectangle cream rug and a small wooden table.

Turning her head, Mai watched as a woman with short black hair walked up to a slightly elderly man. His hair was grey and his clothes were covered in paint.

"Hi." The woman said, more confident than she appeared.

"Can I help you?" The old man asked turning towards the woman still cleaning the paint brush he held in his hand.

"Um... Well, I would like you to paint my portrait." She said, not quite looking him in the eye.

"Oh." He gazed at her with narrow calculating eyes. "I'm sorry this is a private studio."

My tilted her head slightly, wonder what her could mean. Then as she glanced around her once again she saw that there were a couple of painting on there stands. Everyone in the paintings wore lush gowns and stylish suits. Mai then turned back to the woman. She wore a simple knee length skirt and plain white top.

The woman's eyes flickered down and then back up towards the man, "I know, look I, I don't have a lot of money. I can't afford to pay you much but I really need you to paint my portrait."

"It's not about money, I'm just very selective about who I pick."

The woman's bottom lip began to tremble as she held but her cries. "Mrs Waterson said you would help me." She told him her voice raising slightly.

"Okay." The man said.

Mai blinked awake frowning. This dream confused her. Was it really a vision? Or maybe she had actually had a normal dream for once? She couldn't remember the last time she had dreamed a ordinary dream.

She got up from the bed noticing that Naru was not laying beside her and her frown deepened. Where had he gone? Mai listened and heard Naru's familiar deep voice talking to Lin on the other side of the bedroom door. Okay, she thought, time to get up.


	39. Case 7: Painting Life Part 4

As the day went by nothing of any interest to any of the researchers was brought to light. This meant that they knew nothing of what was happening in the house, what or who was causing it and how to get rid of it. Mai hadn't seen any reason to tell anyone about her dream, it didn't really seem that important. It just seemed like a random dream.

Mai was lying on the sofa in SPR's base deep in thought, whilst the rest of the team either watched the screens or tried to find any information on the house in general. Everyone was so consumed into watch they were doing that some when Mai let out an 'eep' did the team turn towards the flustered eighteen year old and an innocent Japanese seventeen year old.

"Sora, what on Earth are you doing?" Mai gasped out trying to ease heart startled heart.

"I thought you would be lonely without me, so I came to join you." Came the teenage boys reply and he wrapped his arms arm Mai's waist and breathed her in. She smelt like vanilla and Lily's.

Naru was infuriated at Sora. He felt a pang of unreasonable jealousy for the boy who had Mai in his arms and it wasn't long before he was lost to these emotions. Naru closed the space between him, Sora and Mai and forcibly pried the brown hair boy off of her.

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

Naru crooked his eyebrow at the boy, frowning deeply.

"Oh, I get it." Sora teased. "Your jealous. Well to bad... You haven't put any visible claim on Mai-chan so, as I can see, she is fair game. She isn't yours."

Yet. Naru added silently. Agreeing with the boy child. Only the team know that there is anything going on between him and Mai and there are other men in this place besides Sora who would consider her 'fair game' as Sora put it.

Of course, Mai's face turned bright red at the thought of her being anyone's 'game'. It made her seem like an animal and the men were the hunters. With a mental shiver, she decided that she wouldn't let anyone hunt her and, besides, as far as she was concerned she has already been tagged and released into the wild by Naru (hypothetically, of course).

Naru release Sora from his grip and the seventeen year old boy too his chance to flee, but not before sending a wink Mai's way and telling her he would see her soon through his telepathy.

"How come you get all the guys coming after you." Ayako exclaimed breaking the silence that lingered after Sora's leaving. Ayako was leaning on the wall to Mai's right, wearing blue jeans and a red t-shirt.

Mai shrugged letting herself fall back onto the sofa and then pinched the bridge of her nose. "I have no idea, but you can have Sora if you want."

"NO!" Monk shouted, a little too loudly.

"Why scared of the competition, Monk." Yasu teased. "It's okay. I will always be with you." Of course, this made monk go into freak-out-mode, screaming and shouting at Yasu about being guy and perverted.

"Don't worry. Sora doesn't mean what he is saying, not in that way at least." Mai said getting everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?" Ayako asked, walking over to Mai and sitting on the arm of the sofa.

"I mean that, Sora does have romantic feelings for me. When I was with him, I have learnt that there are three sides to Sora. The first side is the playful and flirty side that he shows everyone, the second side is his protectiveness. He is testing you, to see if you can look after me as will as he could. The third side is the one he keeps berried deep within him. It holds his fear of being alone. You see Yuuta and Sora have always been... unique and for that his parents abandoned them. So when Sora becomes attached to someone, he clings to them like a life line. He is scared to be abandoned."

Everyone's face held a hint of sadness as they heard this.

"Unique, how?" Lin asked breaking the silence.

"The twins are telepathic. However their telepathy only allows them to communicate with other people with paranormal capabilities."

"Fancinating." Lin whispered in wonder. Lin had never met any telepathic before. "Do you know anyone else with such capabilities?" His asked curious now.

"Besides you, Naru and Masako. I know that Jessie, Sai and Kaito are Meisters (from the blue exorcist), Shiro is a medium and the twins are telepathic." Mai told Lin and the rest of the group.

"Meisters?" Naru voiced the question that everyone was probably thinking.

"Meisters is the most basic qualification for any aspiring Exorcist, the term Meister refers to the particular combat skill(s) an Exorcist possesses. There are many categories that Meisters fall into: there are tamers, knights, healers, aria and dragoon. Jessie is a healer, Sai an aria and Kaito a knight." Mai exclaimed as basically as she could.

"I see."

After that conversation everyone went back to their work. Which turned out to be nothing since there has been no spiritual activity, that is until Mai fell asleep on the sofa. Naru felt the room temperature drop and turned away from the screens at see the wispy light of a spirit enter Mai's body.

Quickly, Naru went to Mai calling her name and trying to shake her awake but she never did. She slept on.

**MAI'S DREAM**

Mai was once again in the room she had been in when she was in her previous dream. However this time the white haired painter stood with a canvas in front of him and just to his left sat an elderly woman on a wooden chair. This woman wore an elegant, purple silk dress. The woman's hair was a dull blond and wrinkles littered her face. Her lips wear pale pink lines and around her neck was a white diamond necklace. On the canvas was painted her exact double.

The painter finally stopped his brush strokes and hesitantly looked at the old woman. "All finished." He told her.

The woman blinked an hunched forward slightly, relaxing the pose that she had sat in for hours on end. Her thin mouth stretched into a smile. Then she stood up gracefully, soundlessly, holding the skirt of the dress up as to not let it gt in her way as she walked towards the painting.

The painter reached out his hand to assist the old woman in her movements, bring her around to see the painting.

"Ohh." She sighed in delight. "William, it's very lovely."

The painter, William, didn't really take the complement as Mai expected him to but instead he said, "You can take the delivery on Wednesday."

The woman looked up at William in surprise. "Wednesday?"

"Would you like me to postpone it?" William asked, as the woman turned to look at the painting again.

She shook her had, "No. I... I just didn't think it would be so soon."

The scene around Mai shifted and changed. Instead of standing in the studio, she was in a room surround with cement walls and other portraits that Mai thought looked vaguely familiar to her.

William walked into the room saying, "Edna, what if this is all wrong?"

The dark skinned woman moved out of the shadows and towards the white hair painters. "It's not wrong! You've been chosen. You have a special gift."

However Mai could tell by the look on Williams face that he doubted Edna's words. In fact, in William's eyes she could see self-hatred and disgust. However Mai didn't understand why her felt that way. It was strange, as she watched on as a silent observer, she couldn't help but think that she was missing something. A valuable piece of the puzzle, that has left this case incomplete. What was Williams special gift?

That was when Mai heard it, a voice that didn't accompany the images she saw. "Does art imitate life? Or does life imitate art?"

**END OF DREAM**

"Mai!" Naru called shaking her body. He had given up after Mai hadn't woken you for the past fifteen minutes and instead resorted to keeping track of her pulse, that way if anything was wrong her would be the first to know. However Naru didn't feel any spike in the brunettes pulse. When Naru had seen the misty light of the spirit leaving Mai's body that is when he attempted to wake her up again, and, much to his relief, Mai woke up in moment.

"Mai, are you okay?" Mai blinked against the light that assaulted her eyes and groaned.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What did you see?"

"Um, I had a strange dream." Mai murmured still half asleep. She was far more relaxed than she usually was but maybe that was because these creams didn't hold many horrors as the others did.

"What? What did you dream?" And Mai told him.

The strange thing was that both Mai and Naru could see no point in Mai having these dreams. The only thing the could think of was to find out about the painter since he was the common factor in all of her dreams. However there could have been many painters named William, it would take some time to find the right one.

**Hey, guys back again. I hope you liked the chapter, please comment.**

**I also have a question I would like to ask: If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be? I would like to see how the world is created :)**


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